A Siren's Call
by Julianna Tala
Summary: Lila Fontenot was happy. She had a great job at the OBI,her dream home and great friends. Until one of the gods transported her to Atlantis. She never thought that she find love as well. Now she has to decide. Will she listen to her head or her heart?
1. Prologue

**A/N: The Atlantis Series belong to Gena Showalter.

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_**Prologue  
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Eons ago before the pyramids were built; the city of Atlantis sank to the bottom of the sea, never to be heard of again. Only through legends did the legacy of the magnificent city survived the years soon after Man was created by the gods. But what Man didn't know was that Atlantis was home to some of the greatest creatures of stories and legends. Dragons, vampires, nymphs, and demons thrived in the now underground metropolis with other creatures from legends as well with crystals that shone brightly with colors of day and night over the city as their new source of light.

The gods who had sank Atlantis sought to use the city as punishment for those who would go against them and the people of the surface. Corrupted humans who had accepted darkness into their hearts were sent to the city to deal with the Atlanteans on their own. Sometimes, the gods would send innocent humans to the city for their own amusements and games. Vampires and demons sought them out for humans were known to have the sweetest blood and flesh among any other races, their numbers becoming briskly insignificant. In time, the humans became non-existent throughout the hidden capital, making the being of humans a thing of ancient times.

Not until the gods interfered with the fate of Lila Fontenot.

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**I'll try to update this story as soon as I come home from Spring Break. Please leave reviews. I want to hear your opinions. **

**Until then...=^_^=  
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	2. Chapter 1

**A/N: Here is the first chapter. I worked on this over the Spring Break and I have couple of more ideas for the upcoming chapters. For now, enjoy. =^_^=**

**I don't own of the the Atlantis series characters....except for my female protagonist. The honor the story goes to Miss Gena Showalter who will be starting her book tour in April. Go buy her books!  


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**_Chapter One_**

_Present Day. San Antonio countryside, Texas_

The sound of horses and crickets seeped through the dark blue curtain windows as an early November breeze ruffled through them, causing little silk ripples to appear.

24 year old Lila Fontenot blinked lazily as she felt around for her glasses on top of her bedside table. After catching and putting the slight rectangular specks on, she read the blue numbers on her iPod clock. 6:30 a.m. Time for work. She pulled back the Ocean blanket from her warm body and began fixing it over the dark purple sheet covered queen's bed.

The morning sun had yet to make an appearance, the moon and dusk shade battling over the horizon as Lila made her way to the bathroom and turned on the light. Her dark brown eyes quickly adjusted to the blinding glow as she checked her appearance in the mirror. Her dark brown/black hair was not so bad considering it was down to her waist in messy waves. The tanned skin of her curvy body was hugged by the warm purple nightgown and her face was somewhat smooth except for the scar that cut over left eye and eyebrow. So far so good.

Lila quickly washed her face and teeth before gathering the clothing for the day. Being part of the Otherworld Bureau of Investigations (OBI) had its hassles. Such as going in early for recent report about her latest mission. Ok, she'll admit that having great combat skills and talent in the fine arts made her a sort of _feminine fatale, _but she didn't see why the report needed to be filled out about finding the last part of that pilfering, murderous, deceitful Argonauts organization and getting rid of them. Shrugging it off, she finished putting on her blue jeans and dark purple ruffle blouse and made her way back to the bathroom to put on her contacts. Finishing with that task, she made her way down the room stairs, past the living room out looking her small ranch and to the kitchen. Opening the door, she called out, "Critias, Hermos, come and eat."

She left the door open as she went to stove and turned on the stove for breakfast. _I'm thinking a bacon and ham omelet and some fruit, _she thought. _It's going to be a long day._ No sooner that she put the pan and eggs on the fire, two German-wolf mix dogs trot their way to the center of the room. Putting the cooked bacon and ham on the skillet, she bent down eye level to the massive beasts. "How are my boys today?" she asked, scratching their favorite spots behind the ears.

_Good morning to you, mistress. Can we join you for breakfast?_

She heard the two thoughts in her head as a reply. "Sure," She chuckled, "Let me finish making mine and I'll get yours."

The two dogs bowed their heads and went to the table in the dining room as Lila went back to making her breakfast. She loved it when she could hear what the animals are saying and no else could. She silently thanked her mother, may God rest her and her father's soul in peace, bloodline for carrying the gene of communicating with animals.

Grabbing her plate that had her steaming hot omelet and fruits and glass of milk, she strolled to the dining room and set the food down before she went back to the kitchen and grabbed the two dark blue dog bowls from the sink rank and the dog food from the pantry. Quickly filling them up and taking them to her two companions, she sat the bowls down and began to eat her breakfast as well.

_Where are you going today, mistress? _

Lila heard Critias's thought as she finished her plate and drink and put up her plate in the sink. "I'm going to work today to finish off that report," she replied, washing her hands in the sink and grabbing her black leather bag from the counter island in the middle of the kitchen, heading towards the front door. "So you guys know the routine?"

_Yes, mistress_. Maddox barked, voicing his understandment. _Watch out for intruders, don't make a mess of the house or barn and keep an eye out on the others animals_.

"You got it," she laughed as she dressed her feet in thick black socks and boots. Grabbing the long tailed black coat off the coat rack and wrapping it around her frame, she produced her keys from the bag as she headed out the door. "I'll be back later on. Be careful."

And with that she locked the door and made her way to the dark blue '10 Ford pickup on the gravel driveway. She could hear the rest of the animals waking up and heading out to the pastures. Having a ranch in the countryside was always peaceful for Lila since she grew up on a farm herself. She had learned the basics of ranching and combat from her father and how to cook and train in the fine arts from her mother. Unconsciously, she wrapped her fingers around the aquamarine pendant that hung around her neck. They had given her the jewel for her 13th birthday. She slightly clutched the pendant, ignoring the slight pain in her hand and her heart. It had been eleven years since they both lost their lives. Eleven years since she went to live with her father's 4 brothers on a farm in South Carolina and then back to Texas to live and work on her own. She remembered how Uncle Daniel taught her gymnastics, earning scolding from Uncle Dante that she should focus on her school work (considering that she always got A's and high B's), and caring from Uncle Armand, her father's twin brother, helping her further her skills in ranching and combat skills, and she also remembered Uncle Atticus who was always strong in his mind and heart but always silent; but lastly she remembered the life lessons that her Grandfather taught her. To never back down from what is right. To stand up for those who can't. To always remember where she came from and to always live life to the fullest. She guessed that's way she got tribal tattoos on her arms and lower back, why her activities included surfing, weapons archery, cooking and taking care of small children that at the first glance at her, they would smile the best smile that they could.

Wow. No wonder her friends worried about her. Either, she was really living it up or crazier than dimwitted possum that can't play dead.

Shaking her head, she got into the truck and headed down the dirt road for the 30 mile daily trip to San Antonio. As she passed by the acres of her land, she could see the herd of stallions and mares that left the barn this morning. They ran and ran as fast as the wind could carry them. Looking past the small tree foliage of the rolling hills and cliff sides, Lila couldn't help but think that life was entirely good.

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**Well, that's that. Please R&R! I would love to hear from ya as well as questions. I'm still working on the other chapters as well so I'll be able to update soon.**

**For now....Enjoy =^_^=  
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	3. Chapter 2

**Sorry this one took so long. Please enjoy and R&R!! =^_^=**

**The Atlantis series doesn't belong to me. I only have the books not the original plot. The honor of that goes to Miss Gena Showalter. WE LOVE YOU!! =3**

**I dedicate this chapter to my friends whom I based my heroine's friends on. They have helped me get the confidence to write on, despite the constant joking and making fun of me. The names belong to them as well. I LOVE YOU GUYS!!  
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_**Chapter Two**_

Parking her truck outside the business-like camouflage building of the OBI HQ, Lila grabbed her bag and headed towards the door. She swiped her card through the id strip and the glass-like doors opened, allowing her to walk to the conference desk in the middle of skyscraper room. She strolled up to the secretary woman who always wore a dark colored business suit and her blond hair pulled back in a bun. "Mornin', Sophie," Lila greeted casually, leaning against the counter.

"_Bonjour_, Lila," Sophie replied. It didn't surprise Lila that Sophie spoke in her usual Cajun accent, considering that she was a transfer from New Orleans. "You're here mighty early, _Chere_."

Glancing at her wrist watch, Lila spoke, "It's only 7:55."

"That's early enough for me," Sophie yawned. "Mind telling me why ya here so early?"

"Well, I gotta go make a report." Lila started walking off, "Catch up over tea and coffee?"

"On the Riverwalk with the others?"

"You know it," Lila answered, getting on the elevator that took her to the boss's level on the 30th floor. The elevator doors opened to another level that showed two big polished wood doors, each having a bodyguard on either side.

"Mornin' boys," Lila spoke as she opened the doors to the room.

"Good morning, Lila," the two greeted her simultaneously, their deep voices echoing off of each other. The closed the doors behind her as she strode to stand in front of long silver desk that held a coffee mug, some folders, and laptop. Behind them, the back of a leather chair facing towards her, the owner of the office, looking towards the glass panels that showed the entire city waking up from its nocturnal transition.

"Good morning, Lila," the deep baritone voice of her boss welcoming her. The chair swiveled around to face her. "I trust that your recent mission was a success."

The man leaned against the desk, making it creak slightly under his weight. Even though his eyes were a deep shade of blue and his hair was platinum blonde, it greatly contrasted with his tanned skin.

"Yes, sir," she rejoinder, keeping her voice calm and collected. "The mission was success, but you could have warned me that the last remaining members of the Argonauts held certain powers."

"Now Lila," her boss reprimanded, treating as if she was still a five year old child, "First off, it wouldn't have been much of challenge if you knew about their powers a head of time, and second of all, just call me Uncle Horatio. I've known your folks for years and known you ever since you're were just a baby crawling and climbing everything and _everyone_ in sight."

She sighed, "Alright, _Uncle _Horatio," Lila corrected herself, adding the jesting tone with the word. "The one time you climb the tallest tree at age five," she mumbled under her breath before she exhaled a heavy sigh. "Are you going to tell me why the sudden interest in the disappearances of couple of people?"

Horatio got up from his chair and grabbed some folders from on top of the desk, his six foot muscled structure towering over her. "These disappearances have a bit of an interest with us," he answered, handing the beige folders to her. "I think that you'll find something that will be quite…appealing." He turned back to sit in the chair. "But for now, I think that you deserve some time off."

Lila shook her head, "I'm fine. I don't need couple of days off."

"Lila, you have worked for this bureau for five going on six years without calling in sick or asking for vacation time," he argued. "Hell, I think that the only time you've stopped working is on holidays."

"Uncle---,"

He held up his hand in front of him, "Nope. You are taking some time off and that's final."

"Fine," she answered, drawing out the irritation of the thought. "How much time do I have off?"

"I'd say about 3 weeks, give or take," he shrugged. He began typing on his laptop as Lila opened the door to leave when he questioned, "Still going to the family get-together next week?"

She turned back as she held the door open, "Yeah," she replied, "And I think Uncle Ryan and the family are coming as well."

"That's good," he chuckled. "I will see you then."

"See ya," and with that Lila closed the door, heading towards an open elevator. She dug out her Bluetooth earpiece to call a couple friends that needed to be checked on. A couple of rings later, a feminine voice answered, "Marcela speaking."

"Hey Mars. It's me."

"Hey Lila," her cheerful friend laughed, "Are we still on for the Riverwalk today."

"Yep. I just got to make a couple of phone calls. Did you call everyone else?"

"I already did. Eve, Marilyn, Heather, and Julia are going to meet us there as well."

"Sounds good. I already talked to Sophie and she's going as well."

"Alright. I better get back to work. I've got cases to file."

The elevator sounded as it hit her office floor. "Alright, Mars. See ya then."

The click of the ended call turned off the earpiece as she walked towards her desk and placed the files on top and grabbed her usual mug with an Earl Grey tea bag. She placed on another call towards her friend in New York as she filled her mug with hot water, and the tea's condiments. Three rings and the voicemail picked up, "Hey. You've reached Grace Carlyle's cell. Not here right now. Please leave a name and I'll get back to you when I can." Beep.

"Hey Grace. It's Lila. Girl, where are you? I'm starting to worry. Call me back." Click

She sighed. Grace never missed any of her phone calls and now she hasn't picked up her phone in the past four and a half months. Where on earth was she?

Lila dialed her next friend's cell phone. Again it went straight to voicemail. "Hello. You've reached the cell phone of Shaye Holling. I'm busy at the moment so leave a name and phone number at the beep." Beep.

"Shaye. It's Lila. I'm beginning to worry. Your mother won't tell me anything and you haven't picked up your work phone or your house number. Call me back." Click.

Lila sat back down as she started going through the files, thinking about her MIA friends. What da hell was going with those two? It was out of character for both of them to not answer their calls or pickup missed messages. Shaking her head, Lila scanned the folder that her Uncle/Boss gave her. On the covers said **DISAPPEARANCES TIED TO GREEK LEGENDS**? Well that was a new one. Going through the files, Lila almost chocked on her tea as she came across two familiar photos attached to their profiles. She study and restudy both the pictures and the profiles and she could see no other answer, feeling the blood from her face drain. Both profiles held a woman in her early 20's, good stable jobs and their last appearance in public. They were indeed the same women whom Lila was trying to get a hold of. Grace Carlyle and Shaye Holling. Last seen at gatherings with suspicious men as their companions. Both disappeared after their gatherings were interrupted by chaos and the two men were supposedly tall, dark, and very powerful in strength and power. Along with the women, a couple of family relatives and a close friend also vanished.

Lila began to pace in front of her desk, thinking a storm of ideas to go about this mission. _What am I going to do? What am I going to do?! What am I going to do!"

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"So, you have to go in search of them and find out what has happen?"

The questioned brought Lila out of her train of thought to her close friends sitting around a café table next to the Riverwalk bridges. Boat trolleys seemed to pass by every five minutes.

"Looks like it," she sighed fretfully. "Why did I ever get myself involved with this kind of work?"

"Well, you always wanted to work with something out of the ordinary and your parents didn't exactly have normal jobs," her dark haired, china doll friend, Marilyn answered, taking a sip of her espresso. "Your father was part of this 'Brotherhood of Justice' and your mother was part of the famous Cirque du Animals troupe."

Lila thought that was true "Well, you're right about that."

"And you didn't exactly have a normal childhood before you moved to San Antonio," Eve chirped in, "What with the combat and gymnastics training from age three and your…," the petite blond looked around discreetly, "ability."

Lila could only nod, "Okay."

"And don't forget that you practically moved from place to place because of those jobs and made tons of friends and connections all across the nation and more," Marcela added in, sketching the scenery of the Riverwalk on her pad, pushing her light brown hair out of her face.

"Okay, okay," Lila said, slightly crossed. "I get it. I didn't exactly grow up like a normal kid." Taking a sip of her Earl Grey Latte. She never drank any coffee on a count that her mainly boys-now men-cousins found it amusing to force feed her stuff.

"Back to da main subject," Sophie inquired softly, "Are going to look for your friends?"

Lila didn't hesitate or think about the question. "I have to. I'm really worried about them. They could lost or killed, or WORSE." Lila emphasized the last point.

She turned to Heather and Julia who were sitting quietly near the table's end. Usually they never talk unless they have something on their mind, but to where friends are concerned, they would always share their mind. "It's good that you worry about friends," Heather spoke proudly and firmly.

"But it's always good to watch from a distance to observe the situation better." Julia's eyes blazed softly with allusive wisdom with those words.

Lila thought about for a couple of minutes and began gathering her things. "Well, I'm going to find them one way or another; beginning with their last appearances."

"All right. Don't forget Lila. We're wishing you luck."

Lila couldn't help but smile at their aspiration. "Thanks guys. I'm gonna survey the ranch before I head out," she replied as she stood up and pushed in her chair to leave. "I'll call y'all."

She walked away with their wishes and goodbyes began walking past a couple of blocks under the bridges before coming to a stop under the overpass she needed.

"I see that you are off on a search." A voice that held low rumble caught her ears as she continued to the stairs. Lila looked to see where the voice came from. In the corner of where the stone and stairs met was a man with a worn out leather hat that hung out over his eyes. His back was against the wall and the shadows from the trees above provided him enough shade from the afternoon sun. It looked like he had made himself comfortable there for a long while. Okay, shady guy can observe where a person is going. Weird.

The man chuckled, "Ah, but this 'shady guy' can be of use to you with your search for your missing friends."

Lila stooped down eye level to him. "How did you know that I was going on a search?" She questioned carefully about her friends. Something about him made her mind scream "Get away from him!" He was already making the hairs of the back of her neck stand on end. It was as if this man could read minds.

The man looked up; his bright blue eyes startled her. It was as if the entire ocean could fit into eyes, very well into his soul as well. "I have something that may help what you are looking for, child of the sea." He reached into his dark blue jeans pocket and pulled out what looked to be like an amulet. She couldn't really until the man gently grabbed her hand, placing the amulet in her palm and closed it.

Lila took back her hand. "Child of the sea?" As he began to stand up, she studied the rest of his features. The man could easily tower over with a good seven inches on her five foot four structure; he had his shoulder length hair tied in a dark ponytail, his eyes still glued on her's.

"You were the stone of the sea, meaning that you were born in the month of the water state." He pointed to the aquamarine pendant around her neck, "And I could guess that you were also born from the ocean."

Lila took a step back. "I'm from a town near the ocean, yes. But what does that have to do with anything?" She uncurled her hand and saw what the man put there. The amulet was set in a dark silver dragon etching in the middle. The aquamarine stone was encircled with the dragon coiling around the gem, its eyes gleamed bright ice-blue glow.

As she continued studying the amulet, the man answered, "It means plenty if you have the right power." The man pointed again to the stone in the middle. "Place the gem where water can touch it and it will bring you to your dear friends."

"But wait!" Lila exclaimed, "How did you know---," She looked up, seeing that the man disappeared. It didn't look like he went down the other paths of the Riverwalk as well. She looked down at the amulet again, holding it in the sunlight's bright shine. "I guess I'll look at it tomorrow." She started her way back up the stone stairs towards her truck. Maybe after a good night's sleep, she will figure out what her next move is. A shudder coursed through her body. She didn't know what was worse. Having being told that the power to find her friends was in this pendant by a creepy (but handsome) man that made her kitty senses jolt or the fact that something was coming over the horizon pretty soon and for once, she didn't know what it was. _Crap_….

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**Finally, its here. Again, sorry this took so long to update. I probably won't be updating pretty soon. I'm in the process of moving into another house, but I'll find some free time to work on the other chapters. The house I'm settling into has an AWESOME view of the ocean. Imagine that one scene from Twilight or New Moon with the surrounding forest and ocean. That's the view I'm gettin'. =^_^=**

**Well...Hope to see ya soon. But for now...Enjoy.  
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	4. Chapter 3

**Gomen nasai. Lo siento. Mi dispiace. ** **Je suis désolé**. **In other words. So Sorry for uploading this late but I'm not dead and I haven't given up.**

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**Chapter Three**

_Amazon Jungle, Atlantis_

The crystals that shined above the city of Atlantis began to change to the color of nightfall, light becoming extinguished across the land. Brand au Aronoc could see from his bedroom window that families began to head home for the night, shops and merchants packing their wages for the day. It had been a very busy day for everything. Darius was still concerned over the well-being of his mate and the children she carry (which himself thought that Darius was being a bit overprotective over the matter), the dragon warriors began their trainings with the nymph and vampire armies and it seems that all the healthy tensions between the races fueled their practices.

He lay down on his four-poster bed, staring aimlessly at the marble layer over his head when a knock at the door broke his drift of ideas. "Who is it?"

"Brand. It's Renard," answered a low subtle voice. Renard. Great. Just what he needed at a time like this, he thought, bringing himself to sit up and lean against the headboard. "The others and I are heading to the Inner Circle for little bit of fun." The statement filled with a bit of laughter and snickering, "Care to join us?"

He sighed, blowing a long strand of sand-blonde out of his face, "No, thank you. I will just stay here for now." At the moment, relaxation sounded better than going with a group of arrogant warriors especially this group. He liked the warriors as brothers that he never had but they had always found a way to start a fight over something. It's was becoming rather …tedious than fun joining the fights. The fall of footsteps outside the door confirmed their absence of them, leaving Brand in a space of quietness. He began to feel lethargic as he settled himself down again, his eyelids becoming too heavy with sleep. Letting darkness take him, he fell into sleep that held a vision.

_Blue liquid spread out as far as the eye can. Water surrounded him, covering his whole body as if he was swimming but not drowning. A swift shadow passed at the corner of his eye, catching his attention. He turned to see the image and it seemed that all time had stopped his mind's eye. An orca swam past with grace and agility, the massive creature bowing through the water as if it was for its own amusement; however it was what was attached to the dorsal fin that took his breath away. _

_A woman with ebony hair so long, its braided tip came past her small waist swam. One delicate hand was holding the mighty beast's fin with the greatest of ease; the animal paying no heed to its swimming companion. No clothes covered her small, curvy body except for a pair of dark emerald mini-shorts and matching top that stopped at the top of her ribcage, exposing the smoothest light tanned skin he'd ever laid eyes upon, the material hugging the curve of her breasts to make them delectable. Was she a mermaid? _No_, he thought hastily, _no mermaid can even compare to her beauty, also she did not have a tail._ Instead, she had legs that were smooth and slender. So slender that they could drive a man crazy with ideas. Ideas that began fill his head as if he could already see his hands glide over the smooth texture of her warm skin. He swallowed the lump in his sudden dry throat. Study the rest of her, au Aronoc!_

_He trailed his eyes over the tribal tattoos this sensuously sinful female wore on her upper and forearms. Maybe she's an Amazon warrior; she seemed to carry herself as a fighter, someone who had been in many battles and took no prisoners. Again, _no_, he thought as he felt his face tug slightly into a small wicked grin. She also carried an aura of beauty and grace with her as he continued to watch both her and the beast glide through the water with ease. Sometimes, she would let go of the orca to swim on her own and do little tricks in the water. As he watched he could feel desire course through his life blood, the beast inside clawing at the surface of his soul to claim, to take, to savor this female. The only thought running through Brand's head was, _Who is this sinfully beautiful siren?

_As if sensing his question, she let go of the whale and swam towards him, the orca never leaving her side. She stopped in front of his body, and he looked at her face, sucking in a heated breath. Two dark brown eyes stared back making them sparkle with laughter, enjoyment and attraction. How long did they watch each other, never taking their eyes off of each other? Minutes? Hours? _

_He broke his gaze from her warm russet gems, and continued to study the rest of this seductive siren's small body. She wasn't tall nor tiny, the top of her head could barely touch his shoulder. Her nose was tiny and elfin. Dark spikes from her eyelashes caused small shadows to fall on her soft cheeks, and a scar streaked down the front of her left eye. This siren was truly captivating, truly exquisite. Damn, he wanted to put her in the real world, his world and do nothing more than spend every waking moment with this woman. He had never seen this female in Atlantis before, even on patrol through the Inner and Outer Circle of the city. Another questioned began to form in his mind. Was _she a human? Was she living on the surface right now and dreaming about him as well?

_Shaking his head harshly, he dashed any hope of the answer before it spread. He knew that he could never have her. Even if she was on the surface, human travelers were forbidden to ever enter Atlantis. Either those who did were turned away, their memories erased or they meet an early death. Finding the voice of his suddenly dry throat, he questioned, "Who are you?" His eyes never leaving hers._

_She laughed softly, her soft lips pulled into a smile that seemed to shine brighter than the solar crystals. Her laugh was most stunning sound he had ever heard, soft and lyrical, warm and light. "You will soon see." Her voice drifting through the waters like a flowing melody of bells echoing softly around his ears. _

His eyes shot open, his breath came out in short pants. His eyes began to scan pointlessly as he become accustomed to the light. The illumination of dawn and twilight filtered the window of the bedroom, casting small shadows over the floor. He growled over the loss of the drifting dream, the same dream that has been torturing him for the past month. Scrubbing a hand down his face, Brand tried form words of the very realistic visualization he envisioned. Was it a vision or not? If it were, would he be able see the beautiful siren again? Would he be able to actually see her lovely dark brown eyes, feel the softness of her hair freed from the braid and not some fictional apparition that has been haunting his sleep. What truly made it even more frustrating were her eyes. Those eyes seemed to have burned an image right into his mind that would not leave. But then again, it wasn't as if he wanted the image to disappear. A knock at the chamber's door broke his thoughts. "What?" he growled through his teeth, letting irritation seep into his voice from the lack of a peaceful sleep.

"Well, that's certainly not a way of voice to start off with," a deep voice answered back, the iron command clear in the response. "Especially at daybreak."

Shit. Brad stiffened at the familiar tone of authority and ran to the door as the jewel around his neck open the door to the now also familiar imposing figure. "Darius," he said, careful about the next words that came to thought.

Darius arched a black eyebrow at the sudden change. "Do I even want to know what is going on with you?" he asked. He began to walk down the corridor and Brand followed him. "Is it the dream again?"

Brand ran a hand through his loose sandy blonde hair. "It is and for some ungodly reason, it hasn't stopped." He let out a calming breath before continuing. "What were you doing outside my chamber door?" Darius rarely came out of his own chamber nowadays, considering that Grace was close to her due date with the twins and having known Darius since his hatchling days, he would have stayed by her side.

"I'm sending you out with a couple of men to investigate some recent activity with the demons," Darius explained. "One of the scouts came back reporting that several people from different races have been kidnapped and being held at the demon fortress."

"So this is a rescue mission?" Brand concluded as stop to look which room he was now in. The dining room expanded around a dragon-clawed table with its ivory walls, opening a view of the entire city at the end of the room. He also noticed that sitting at the table were two bronzed men. One had a seldom calm look over his features, while the other held a intense look in his pale eyes. Valerian and Layel, he recognized. Valerian was the first to speak, "It is more than that. It is as well a scouting mission."

"These damned demon rebellions have been kidnapping warriors from my people, the nymphs, as well as your comrades and the other races." Layel added in, letting irritation and annoyance seep into his voice. As both he and Valerian stood, Darius interjected, "Ever since Layel killed Marina, the demons have been under the rule of the second in command, Damion which of we know that he is planning some sort of revenge."

Brand thought it over, but it made no sense. "Why is this Damion so interested in revenge for Marina? We all know that demons are that exactly honorable or kind towards other races or their own people, and if so, what is he exactly yet?"

"I thought of that too, so I sent Shivawn to the Inner City library archives and he found this." Valerian pulled out a worn-out parchment from the bag strapped across his chair and laid out on the table for everyone to see. "According to this document, Marina and Damion were twin brother and sister. They grew up very close to each other and they hardly left each other sides. As far as the attack, we still haven't figured out where they are attacking and when."

It was hard to put two and two together after that bit of information. "So he is planning an attack for revenge against us for his sister?" Brand asked. Marina was nasty bitch of a demon and real bloodthirsty. Sometimes, she would let her army run wild, attacking any village they wanted. It was by the Gods graces that Jewel had endured the torture she went through because that damned demon and escaped. If Marina was the version of pure evil, there would no telling what her brother could unleash.

Darius stepped forward, his blue-eyed gaze becoming like ice. "That is why you and a couple of men are heading out later today to investigate."

Layel joined in the conversion as well, "Alyssa, Zane, and Nola will be joining you as well. They will be of great help on this mission. They have been a bit restless since the God's games three months ago."

"I am sending Shivawn and Dorian on this as well." Valerian interjected. These warriors were known for their skills as well as helping rescue the remaining warriors from the God's games.

Brand bowed before he left the three leaders, "Thank you. I will be heading out now." As he made his way to the weapons room, he couldn't help but remember that over 10 months ago, Darius, Valerian, and Layel couldn't be in the same room without war breaking out between them. Even with the tensions between the vampires and the dragons, now the three nations made it look like they have been brothers in arms for eons.

Once he arrived at the weapons room and began to think what he was going to take with him, he couldn't help but remember the seductive siren that has been haunting his sleep. Fidgeting with his fingers, he wondered if the dream was even true and if it was where was she?

* * *

Lila jolted awake from her recent dream. The silence around her filled up with her heavy pants and light chorus of the crickets outside with the occasional call of the barn owl that occupied the barn hayloft.

_Dammit!_ She thought. This same dream has been torturing her for the past month but it was only a forgotten dream up until she got that mysterious pendant. Somehow, that made the dream (or maybe a vision?) strong to a point where she can remember all of it. Even the tall, dark and mysterious warrior. Mmmmmm….. _Snap out of it, Fontenot._

Shaking her head, she got up and went to the kitchen for a glass of warm milk and homemade chocolate chip cookies, ignoring the cold contact of the floor against her bare feet. Mama always said that the best way to fall asleep was through a filled stomach. Drinking the warm liquid, she couldn't help but think about her dream warrior. Sure he was probably a figment of her over-active imagination but, damn he was _fiiine_.

After eating the last bit of cookies, Lila mozzied on up to her bedroom again and fell with asleep with content sigh. Maybe, she could see her dream warrior again and ask where was he?

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**Finally here is chapter three. Again sorry that this took so long to update. After finishing moving into my new house (the view is still awesome), my muse for this story just kinda up and went. But have no fear. I'm still continuing this story. **

**If you've ever heard of David Arkenstone, I recommend that you listen his Atlantis album especially the song Jewel of the Sea. This song was what inspired this chapter.**

**Until next time =^_^=  
**


	5. Chapter 4

**Here is the fourth chapter. Sorry I took so long. Stupid exams. Anyways, check out my other story _Crimson Gemini: A Mew Mew Power and Twilight story_. I'm using the book, not the movie mind you, for the story. If you're wondering what the Twilight characters look like in the books, check out Twilight's Graphic Novel.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Atlantis series. Gena Showalter does. Must I do this ever time?  
**

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_**Chapter Four**_

Lila let out a tired yawn. She hated waking up early on her rare days off, especially when she has to mount up on one of her most kind yet stubborn horses. Said horse, Niyol, let out a snort and shook his midnight mane. _You know, you coulda slept in longer. Aquilo and I coulda done the patrol._

Lila let out another yawn, "No. You know it would look a little weird that two of my best draft horses are out and about at 7 a.m. Besides, Aquilo is not much of a morning horse," she joked.

_Hey! You know that we prefer the term 'war horse'. _Lila snorted a chuckle at the comment. Both Niyol and Aquilo were cross-breeds of Danish Warmbloods and Clydesdales, giving them that extra height and power for ranching and hunting so they had always liked to be called war horses. Don't ask her where they got the term, they just did.

She gave the reins in her hands a quick tug with the added kick of her heels to order the horse, "Just keep moving. I wanna be done before lunch." As the midnight horse trotted on the semi-rough terrain of the rolling hills, Lila could feel the slight weight of her weapons and saddle bag on the horse. Never go out on a ride without weapon was what both her late Lakota father and uncle taught her while growing up. Right now, she had her sai's, bo staff, a sword with a dragon carved hilt, and lastly, her bow and arrows. Having the extra sense of security with her made Lila relax a little bit.

Digging into her long trench coat pocket, she pulled out her compass and study the land little bit more. The rolling hills in this part of Texas were so rugged sometimes that most ranchers out here would use horses instead of trucks. Knowing this part of her land, she led Niyol towards a nearby river so they could rest a bit. Sliding off her saddle, she grabbed her canteen and walked towards the water. Even when winter started to settle around here, the water was always cold and clean for drinking. Settling herself on the rocky riverbed, she dipped the canteen into the cold water and waited till the bottle was filled. She ran her fingers through the cold water and slid them across her hot neck. She could feel the moisture collect on the thin strip of leather that held the mysterious amulet, not noticing that it began to glow a faint light. Getting up, she turned to get Niyol from the water as well. "Hey Niyol, did ya get your fill?"

His answered made Lila jumped. _"Lila! Get away from the water!"_

She barely made a "Huh?" before she felt a wet tentacle wrap around her leg, making her fall fowards and pulled her towards the water. She dug her nails into rocks but only to let them slip. Squirming and kicking her legs, she called out, "Niyol! Help!"

Getting close to her, he shook his head, making the reins move from his neck to the front of his face. _"Grab the reins and I'll pull you out!" _

Grabbing the reins, Lila soon became the rope for a tug-of-war between the force of the water and the pulling Draft mix. Back and forth, she didn't know how much more her body could handle being stretched between the two forces. Looking back, she noticed that the tentacle wrapped around her leg was made of pure water and it was pulling her towards a glowing whirlpool that seemed bottomless. "I can't seem to get break," she disputed angrily, "first it was warriors, now it's whirlpools." At the last word, the reins snapped.

Screaming, Lila was pulled into a swirling tunnel of light and screams. The last word registered in her mind was her beloved companion that seemed so close before she lost consciousness. _"LILA!"

* * *

_

Brand snapped his head in the direction towards the ceiling. He could have sworn that he heard a scream. He knew that he just felt that surge of power but it was coming from a different direction. Right now, he and the other warriors were camping in the forest clearing not too far from the demon fortress and they were planning the next attack. "Hey Brand. Something the matter?" Asked Shivawn. Over the past couple of months, both he and Shivawn became close friends along with Zane and Nola.

Shaking his head, Brand turned back towards the group, "No. It was nothing." He laid out one of the maps that showed the fortress's building structure that was stolen from the inside. "So everybody knows what they are doing?"

Everybody nodded his/her head, "Yes."

Shivawn pointed towards the gate of the castle. "Renard, Alyssa and I will sneak into the gates and open the doors. From there, everybody will be able to get in and go to their positions."

Next, it was Zane who pointed towards the courtyard, "The demons will all be in the courtyard for training so Dorian, Nola and I will keep them busy and the first group will be able to join our defenses if things get out of hand," he slid finger towards a section in the palace where it was complete shut off, "while Brand, Madox and Taggart will free the prisoners."

Now, it was Brand's turn to speak. "Since there are vampire and nymph warriors, they will be able to help those who are captive as well and be able to lead them out." He stood up and kicked dirt into the remaining blaze of the campfire. "Everybody has their charge, so I suggest getting some rest. We rise before the crystals show morning."

Everybody else stood up and went back to their tents, while some stayed for their night watch. But what everybody didn't know was that there was going to be jailbreak from only one human warrior.

* * *

Lila groaned as she woke up. She tried moving her now-sore limbs to find that they were cuffed. Opening her eyes, she noticed that she was inside a brick-wall cell with iron-bared door. The bed was a straw pallet with no blankets or pillows, no sink and no toilet. Oh boy, she wasn't in Texas no more.

Getting up gingerly, she made her way towards the door, grateful that chains that were linked to the cuffs on her wrists and legs were not chained to the walls. Looking past the bars, she noticed that along the torched-light hallway, there were other cells and they had…Oh god….they had people in them but some them weren't human. There were a couple of centaurs (Thank the lord that she read some many mythology books when she was younger), some that looked human, but she wasn't too sure that they were human. Anyway, there were also some harpies, griffins, and minotaurs. Turning her head towards the cell in front of her, she could make out a dark-haired male that look like he was in his mid-twenties and had looks that modeling companies would go after. He had no shirt on, black pants that went over a pair of combat boots, but what struck her odd was that he had a tattoo of dragon on his chest. "Hey! Can you help?" she half whispered-talked.

The male snapped his head up and looked backed at her. His eyes were a warm golden-brown that held a dull-fire to them. He moved closer to the bars and questioned in a low baritone voice, "Why is a human here?"

Lila shook her head, "That's what I want to know. Where are we?"

"Right now, we are prisoners under a demon palace that is outside the Outer City," the man answered.

That left Lila with more questions. Outer City? Demons? Palace? Was this place anywhere on…oh I don't know… Earth. "Okay. Where is that?"

The man looked at her as if she was crazy or at least stupid, "In Atlantis, everybody knows where the Outer City is." Lila went into complete shock at this. Atlantis? As in the supposed underwater city Atlantis? As in the city that was banished by the gods themselves Atlantis? Holy shit! She barely heard the man's next question, "Now, answer my question. Why is a human here?"

"Search me," she responded, shrugging her shoulders. "All I know is that one minute I was near the river that runs through my ranch and the next thing I know, I'm being pulled through a whirlpool by a water tentacle and clinging to dear life on my horse's reins." Then she remembered. Niyol! Immediately, she tried her mind link the horse. "_Niyol. Are you here?"_

She was relieved when she heard the reply, _"Lila! Thank god you're okay. What happened? One minute, I'm tryin' to pull ya out, the next I'm being held in a make-shift corral with these weird demons looking at me."_ She could hear the snort he was making as if to emphasize the sentence. _"Anyway, where are ya?"_

_"I don't know. Let me find out and then I'll try to see if I can get out of here. Do you still have my weapons"_

"_Yeah. None of these bastards came near me since pounded some of their comrades faces into the earth so your stuff on the saddle is still nice and secure." _

"_Thanks. I'll try to find a way to get to you. Hang tight." _She went back to her conversation with the man that was now looking at her as if had gone insane…again. "By the way, I didn't catch your name," she asked almost calmingly.

The man straightens slightly at the sentence, "I did not give it to you, and" he joked vaguely, "my name is Torren ou Denole. I serve under the current Dragon King, Darius en Kragin, as one of his commanding officers."

"Hold up," She exclaimed, "did you say Dragon King? As in big, scaley, fire-breathing lizards? As in the kind that have some kind of mystical power?"

"Yes. I assume that is what the surface world knows about dragons."

"Okay." She tried again, gathering the many questions running through her head right about now. "So, are there any other beings of Atlantis besides dragons?" Just then, something like door opening echoed through the hallway, catching the attention of everybody in the cells.

"I will tell you later." He maneuvered his body back towards the cell, "The demon guard is coming for a daily run and he will want to look at his new…" he waved a hand over Lila's body, "captive. I also suggest that do not struggle if you do not know any defensive tactics."

Lila quickly thought of every situation that could become of this and came up with solution. Smirking almost evilly, she answered Torren, "Don't worry. I know the perfect plan." And with that she prepared herself to what was going to happen next.

* * *

**Sorry for updating this so late. My muse went flyin' again and I was so busy with final exams, but now I'm completely free. Goodbye 11****th**** grade and hello Grad year! I'll be updating my next story, **_**Crimson Gemini,**_** after this one. If you have any questions on the story, leave me a review or message. If you're wondering what Niyol, Lila's horse, looks like, I'm posting a website of the photo. Basically war horses, back during the 18****th**** century and earlier, ranged anywhere between Arabian Horses to big Draft horses, you just have to know what you are looking for. I did research on this so I should know. Also I will put up the some pictures of what Lila's weapons look like. But what she is going to do without her weapons will be in the next chapter. So stay tuned and R &R! =^_^=**


	6. Chapter 5

**Wow, record timing for me for posting two chapters in a week. I came up with this chapter when I was listening to the score music of **_**Run Free**_** from the movie soundtrack of **_**Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron**_**. I recommend listening to it if you want the right flow of the story. Special thanks to-****  
**

**arya-v  
****GwinsDavineRaven  
neakingdom  
**

**Who have been faithful to my story to the latest chapter. On with the story**

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**_Chapter Five_**

The groaning sound of the cell door, signaling Lila that the demon captor was here. Lila was leaning against the wall like she was at the beginning, playing possum or **jugando tlacuache***as her grandmother liked to call it. Already she didn't like the demon. Bad smell. Even after long summer day with the animals smelled like a garden compare to this stench. _Phew…whee, does this guy ever need a bath_, Lila thought. She could hear him get close to her as his footsteps got louder. She felt a cold hand grab her chin and lifted her face to face him. "Well, aren't you a pretty little human," it growled menacingly. _Great_, Sarcasm dripping from the thought, _this one wants a piece of me before he goes for the kill and I think might just do that._ "Maybe, Damon won't mind if I have some fun first before I return to training." He leaned closer to her face when her eyes snapped open. Immediately, she head-butted him to get some ground. "Dammit!" He backed up, holding his forehead with his hand. Lila swiftly grabbed the back of his head and delivered a Muay Thai move, Kao Loi **(1)**.

The demon fell to the ground unconscious. Lila found the keys on his hands and released her chains and cell door. Once she locked it, she immediately unlocked the other cells and gathered everybody from them. Lila went and found Torren among them. "Hey, Torren do you think that you and a couple of men can get these people out of here?"

"Yes. I know a couple of these men so they will help as well. What in the god's names did you do to the guard?" he asked, pointing to the cell that held the said unconscious demon.

"I didn't kill him," she shrugged, not caring how her answer came out. "I just used what I know and dealt with him."

He shrugged his shoulders this time, "Good enough. Word of advice though. If you want to kill a demon, cut his throat, and fire only strengthens them."

"Good to know," she nodded. Torren left to talk with some of the other warriors to form a plan while Lila made her way towards the door. She peeked out the entrance to find that it lead to some kind of hallway that was close to the exit. As she was assessing the area, she felt Torren sneak up behind her. Lila turned towards him, "Here's the plan. I sneak out quietly and try to get to my horse while you and the others sneak towards the doors. Once I get Niyol out, use a surprise tactic to get the demons confused so that way they won't notice me unlocking the doors."

"Sounds good. We will let the nymphs take care of the demons while-"

Lila cut him off there, "Hold up. How in the world are a bunch of ladies supposed to fight off a horde of demons?"

Torren laughed at this, "Most nymphs are males and they are the fiercest out of all the races if provoked and believe me, these guys are beyond provoked. Anyway, while the battle is going, some of the other dragon warriors and I will fly out with the ones that can't make it. The centaurs will follow you once the escape is open."

"Okay. Good luck." She waved him off as she made her out of the hallway, quietly and swiftly, and manage to get outside. Once she was out, she spotted Niyol, indeed, in a make-shift corral that didn't look all that sturdy. The demons were too busy trying to tear each other apart to notice Lila make her way to the horse. _Niyol are you hurt anywhere?_

_No. I'm fine. I've been watching these bastards trying to kill one and other. Although this does make good entertainment._

Lila stifled a giggle when she heard someone behind her. "Hey. What are you doing out here?" She turned around to see another demon behind her just as all hell broke loose.

Warriors, nymphs Lila was assuming, burst out of the doors and began to fight the shocked demons. Lila quickly got on Niyol and they jumped over the fencing. They made their way quickly around the courtyard, trying to find the exit when they spotted two huge doors closing the entry way. She quickly grabbed her bow and two arrows and shot at the two demons closing the doors. Bull's-eye.

The doors immediately pulled back open as Lila, along with the joining centaurs, galloped out the fortress. Cheers and roars began to sing out as the group got bigger. The centaurs were carrying warriors and some of the injured while the rest made their way to their own homes. Shadows began to fall on the ground as Lila looked up. Good lord, they weren't kidding when they said dragons. Huge dragons filled the sky as they covered most the escaping party. The demons began to chase after them. Great….First it was bad stench, now they have wings. Soon, an aerial dance between the dragons and demons was unleashed. Roars and howls blended together as they fought. Demons began to swoop down at the centaurs, clawing the air as they reached the warriors. Those with weapons began to use them. Lila became a target as well as demons began to fly almost right next to her. She could hear every thought in their minds as they drew closer.

_This puny human smells delicious._

_I've yet to sample a female warrior and this human will make the perfect course._

She shuddered at each thought disgustingly_. Niyol. Keep running_. Unsheathing her sword with a ring, and thanking the lord above for her horse vaulting training, she stood up and attacked the demons, slitting each throat with accuracy, letting a Lakota cry at each attack.

A forest came into view. Lila jumped back down on Niyol as they ducked into the foliage, not noticing the party at the edge of the tree line. The demons still came after her. She maneuvered the horse past twisting trees and tight spaced trunks to lose the demons. Unfortunately, she failed to see a tree branch sticking out and knocked her off Niyol. Noticing the sudden light weight, Niyol made a quick turn around and went back for her. _Lila. Hold on. I'm coming back around_.

Lila hurriedly got off the ground and began to run. _No. Keep running forward towards the forest clearing. I'll meet up with you there_. Pretty soon they were out of the forest, going into some farmland, and Lila quickly grabbed on to the saddle horn and jumped back on Niyol as the demons trailed behind her. Pretty soon, another team appeared over the horizon, this one had a couple of dragons and some other warriors that varied between pale skin and bronzed coloring. _Great, more trouble_, Lila thought. As they grew closer, Lila became tense again, reaching for her bow and arrows, but she completely stopped once they flew past her. Looking back, she saw that their actual target wasn't her, it was the demons trailing her. But what surprised her most was how quickly and efficiently they attack together. Demon hiss mix with the grunts of war as they killed their enemies.

Lila felt Niyol jump a little bit, as if something spooked him. Turning around, she saw huge dragon land right in front of her. It was beautiful. The scales gleamed with a lapis lazuli shade that even jewelers would find exquisite. It's wings seemed to be longer than half a football field, talons pointing out on each limb where fingers would be (kinda like you would see on a bat's wings). It's glowed a golden-brown, almost like warm fire that seemed to grow into a full-blaze as it focused its attention on her. It growled at her, but it was hypnotic rather than aggressive, almost….like…a…trance. _Oh crap._ She became aware that her body's fatigue caught up with her as her eyes slid shut, causing her to lose balance and fall of Niyol towards the ground, but she never felt the hard earth as she finally slept.

* * *

He couldn't believe it was her. The tiny female that was now under his sleeping spell was the same siren that haunted his dreams. He quickly caught her as she tumbled towards the earth from her steed, not wanting her seemingly delicate skin to be bruised or marred. She was so tiny in his claws. Her body was encased with dark blue pants that hugged her lithe legs and small waist, a dark blue button blouse with a dark violet corset with markings. The black over-coat and hat suggested that she was in a colder climate before she came to Atlantis.

Brand remembered how her eyes were burning with fieriness from the fights with the demons. It was safe to assume that she was the one that caused all that chaos to erupt from the demons fortress. He had saw that many of the prisoners escaped towards their own people, including some the dragon warriors that went missing over the past weeks. He chuckled as he thought such a tiny female, _his_ female, could bring a whole portion of the demon's army to their knees. He decided to keep his dragon form so it would be easiest to transport her back to the citadel. He looked down as he felt nudge against his other claw. The female's mount was growing questionable as he snort and nickered at him as he head-butted against his leg. He seemed to be asking what he was planning on doing with his mistress. "Do not worry." He finally said, expanding his wings upward, "I will take good care of her. I mean no harm towards your mistress." Just as he got his body ready to take off, he called back towards the group, "Shivawn. This horse belongs to the woman. I will be taking her back to the palace for some… medical attention." And with that he finally took off into the air, his body feeling absolutely free and content now that he has siren with him.

* * *

***-It's Spanish for playing possum**

**(1) Kao Loi —** **A Muay Thai move that involves the knee hitting anywhere on the upper abdomen, most commonly the head.**

**Finally here's chapter five. I'm uploading this story as I'm traveling all over the island for swim meets. If you want to check out my team's swim club, google Oak Bay Orcas. By the way, Niyol means Wind in Navajo and Aquilo (Lila's other horse) means Storm. Well goodnight to all**


	7. Chapter 6

**Okay guys. I'm really REALLY sorry for not updating sooner. School's been hassle especially if you're a Grad this year. For the long wait, I made this chapter super long so it will be worth it. Anyways, for this chapter, I was just listening to a bunch of songs for the cd _Atlantis_ by David Arkenstone. I highly recommended to get the flow of the story. For some reason, I have this weird itch to see _Quest for Camelot_ (I love this movie and it needs more fanfics)and _Faeries._ I don't know why -_-'  
**

**Disclaimer: Must I do this ever time? Me don't own Atlantis series. **

**Major shout-out to me peeps aka my faithful readers and reviewers:**

**MusicOfTheDawn**

**GwinsDavineRaven**

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Chapter Six**

First thing that Lila did when she woke up was shield the light that was blinding her, waking her up from her slumber. _More sleep, thank you_, she thought. She rolled over from her back to her side, luxuriating in the soft feel of the silk blanket under her fingers. Wait a minute…. Silk?

Immediately her eyes snapped open and brought her body straight up. She felt her hands around her body, letting every article of clothing fall in to check. Okay, nothing missing. Looking at her new surroundings, she noted that she was lying in a dark oak four-poster that held a dark blue covering on the top, letting the ends fall over the post to cause a curtain effect around the bed. The silk blanket that was covering her was also covered with another dark-colored blanket that was folded at the bottom of the bed. She had to admit the blanket was soft and relaxing, like resting on an ocean wave. She felt like losing herself in the feel but continued in her observation. The walls surrounding the room held jewels encased them, their glints shining the waning light.

_Wow. You'd think that with these many jewels, they'd put a couple of guards at the door. Speaking of which…_. She knew that she wasn't staying here, so she threw off the silk blanket as she made her way to the door. Giving it a quick glance, she noted that there was no door knob or handle to unlock. Great. Now what?

She went back to the bed and sat at the foot of the bed. Putting her head between her upward palms, she thought about her next course of plan. Blowing a bang of dark hair out of her face, she got up again, but this time she went to the far end of the room and positioned her body towards the door, taking a running track start. After a mental countdown, she rammed the door, but no avail.

Letting out a grunt on impact, she let her body slid down the door to the floor, holding her now throbbing shoulder. _Ohkay. Bad idea. Door didn't even budge, _she blew out an exasperated breath. _One more time._

Willing her body to get back in its previous position and stance. Leaning down, she flipped her braided hair behind her and she angled herself for a better slant and bolted to the door. _It's going to budge, even if I—Woah! _She didn't get that far. As she was about ram the door, it opened.

Instead of the hard door, she felt herself caught in another hard object as she shut her eyes. As her and the mysterious body sailed to the ground, she felt two strong arms encircle her as they landed on impact. Another grunt filled the air, except it wasn't hers. It was deep. Warm. Masculine. Opening her eyes, she noted that both she and the body beneath her were now in a hallway that had the same style of walls that were in the room; jewels littering the surfaces of the walls that shone with the brilliance equivalent to that of the sun. And said body had his eyes looking right back her. Lila immediately bolted off with a small squeak, "Sorry!"

She skittered a few feet from him until she could stand up. Dusting the dirt from her butt and pants, she noticed that the man was still on the floor. Not wanting to leave a body on the floor, due to her conscious, she walked towards him till her head was right over his, except she was looking at him upside down. The man had on a pair of dark black jeans and blue shirt. Lila remembered the feel of the texture of the shirt and the muscles that lay beneath it when she accidentally tackled him. Was it silk as well? She couldn't help but notice that the shirt framed his broad shoulders and muscles very adequately. The man must work out regularly considering that she could make out a full-on six pack. Wow! The only time she seen that fine of muscles was steroid-users and her coworkers…..and about three-quarter of them weren't exactly human. Shaking her head, she let her wandering eyes travel to the long sandy blonde hair that was tied in a braid as well. She wondered if it was the same length as her as she reached behind her head and examined her's. Yep. They were about the same length.

Dropping the thick hair behind her back, she next examined the man's face and she immediately felt her heart flutter. It was the same man she had been seeing in her dreams. The same scar that clung to his left cheek, same sharp cheekbones, same squared jaw, same lush mouth that could make a woman's knee buckle when it turned to a smile. A smile that made Lila's head run with fantasies. Feeling her own face heat up, she shook her head and looked back down to the sleeping fallen angel. He was unconscious. Was he even breathing? She wasn't seeing his chest rise with air and that scared the crap out of her. _Aye shit! I killed him!_

Sitting on her knees down, she immediately let her fingers search the chord of his muscle to find his pulse. She couldn't help but notice that his neck was firm and thick as well. Finding the beating vein under his jaw, she let a huge a sigh of relief. Okay! He wasn't dead, but she had to wonder. Did she tackle him hard enough to render him comatose?

Not helping herself, she immediately made sure no one was around before leaning her face closer to his. She stopped when she was barely touched his nose with her's. She started to panic again when she felt no breathing when his hand sneaked behind her and grabbed the back of her head to pull her close for a heated kiss. She let a quick squeak before she felt a tongue probe her open mouth. It was like a drug induced cloud now hung over her mind, quickly dissolving her resolves and morals. Lila felt herself go slack into the kiss and began to respond back, her tongue tentatively coaxing the other. A growl emitted into the air as the body below her began to straighten.

Lila all-at-once felt her mind clear as she willed her body away from the stranger and skittered her body away from his again. She stood up once again and noticed that the man was also standing. Aye dios, he was tall. She could guess that the top of her head could scrape the top part of his shoulder. She also noticed that he has smiling a Cheshire cat smile. Oh wow, she didn't whether she should feel flatter to have kissed a guy with looks that could rival a GQ model or be really ticked at the guy.

Going with the latter, she quickly reprimanded, "A woman tries to save your life, and you pull something like that?" she quickly huffed, ignoring the quick hammering of her heart.

However, this guy seemed to take it and return it back with a smirk of his own. "Really now? I was just simply repaying you for your concern." Aye yah, his voice was deep, accented. Was it any other time she wasn't biting his head for the sneak kiss and near heart attack…she would have considered dating him. His chuckle drew her back to the realm of reality. "But it wasn't as if you didn't pull away immediately," he placed a finger under her chin, making her deep black/brown eyes meet with his warm golden ones that held a predatory glint, "Want to try another one?"

Lila's face felt as if it had been melted off as she smacked his hand away from her with an inhumane growl. "Back off, creep!" she hissed.

She turned and began to run down the corridor she was in. She didn't care that she was in a different place with mythical creatures come to life; she needed to get away for this…this…uggh! She so damn pissed off that she couldn't think of the right insult. Wait a minute…..CRAP; she didn't even get his name! She let out a growl of frustration while speared her fingers through her hair as she continued down the corridor with a fast pace.

Lost in her little rant, she failed to notice a group of five men that were talking in the hallway until she ran smack right into the leader's back. _Damn! What did they eat to grow that tall here? Asparagus?_ She thought with disdain as she felt her noise throb, stumbling back a few feet.

Feeling shadows overcast her body; she looked up and squeaked at the five huge warriors that looked down at her. Wow, did she ever feel small. She noticed that the majority of the group had dark black or brown hair and golden eyes while the one had light blond hair with blue eyes and the last one had…oh wow; pure white hair with icy clear eyes. She also noticed that all of them were without shirts and three out of the five had dragon tattoos on their chests. Each carried their own definition of handsome and strong. She couldn't help but hide her blushing face with her side bangs that were out of her braid. Damm-iiit. Right now she was cursing her uncles from keeping her 'boy-free', once they got past the intimidating aura that she carried throughout her school life.

"Did Alyssa lose one of her friends?"

"No. I don't think so. She doesn't smell like vampire, plus Alyssa was accompanying Delilah and Layel when they came here."

"You know, if you look at her closely, she's cute. In a petite kind of way." Lila snapped her head up to meet with amber eyes that were slightly covered by dark brown bangs.

"Uhhh…you're kind of in my space," she said wearily, scooting back a few feet away, however the guy was persistent and closed the distance between them. Said man reached down and grabbed her hand.

"Well, little one. Might I question as to what a lovely rose such as yourself is wandering these halls?" he flirted. His smile was predatory, but it was anything but charming. Now she was wondering if she was safer with the other guy.

"I, uhh, just was wondering around and I accidentally got myself lost. So if you will now excuse me?" she tried to weasel her way past him as she side-stepped around the bulking mass and straight into another's arms, the feeling of hands grasping her shoulders to steady her.

"Nice going, Renard. You half-scared the poor woman and now she's running away from us," he chuckled. Lila looked up to see the man with blonde hair was now holding her, except he had his eyes turned towards Renard. She also noticed that he wasn't wearing a dragon tattoo.

"Like any woman would fall for your ugly face, Dylan?"

"Oh no. I know that women just love my 'handsome' features." He looked back down at her and leaned down towards her face. "Right little one?"

She didn't answer him. Instead, she slammed her heel on his shoe….hard. Thank god for letting her wear cowboy boots. Dylan let out a hiss as he backed off of Lila. He hopped on one foot for a few seconds before he looked back at her with puzzled expression. She just ignored it. If it was the one thing that Lila hated about men, it was their self-inflated egos.

"Try that again, and I'll formally introduce my fist to your nose," she replied with a sickly sweet tone that matched the innocent smile and bulging vein on the side of her temple. She flexed her fingers and knuckles to crack them for good measure.

She'd half expect them to look at her weirdly, not burst out laughing. It was about a good five minutes before they stopped. The guy with white hair replied back to his slightly injured friend that was settling down on both feet, still slightly chuckling. "Guess she doesn't like you, huh Dylan?"

"That was weird. No other woman has resisted our charm, aside from Valerian's and Jochaim's mate."

"Hey guys, I smell human." Renard walked up and around Lila as if analyzing her. He stepped back for a moment and then asked, "Why is a human here?"

Lila shrugged, "How de hell should I know?"

Renard gave her a 'Yeah right,' look. "Okay. Who was with you because I smell another male scent?"

"You can smell me?" she cringed. "And what's with you and wanting to know how I was with. I don't know you and you and friends don't know me, whatever da hell you are," she yelled, waving a hand over his big frame for empathize. Okay, now she was mad again. What right did this prick have to know whom she was with? The look on his face changed from confusion to slight irritation. She stomped her way through the group before she felt his fist clench around her wrist.

"Hold on. We want answers as to how and why you are here. The only way for a mortal to come down here is through one of the portals and their guards." Renard let go of her wrist as Lila stopped trying to walk away from them. The rest of the group began to ponder Renard's question. The portals that linked the mortal world to Atlantis were always guarded by a selected chosen among their races and so far, there haven't been warnings that someone passed through the mist.

Lila thought about it more a moment, before she shrugged, "I was pulled through portal and I wind up in castle full of demons and—"

Dylan stepped forward, "Wait. Did this demon castle have prisoners such as gryphons, nymphs, dragons and minotaurs?"

"Yeah," she confirmed. "Why?"

They left Lila confused as they huddled together in small circle.

"Do you think that she was the reason they escaped?"

"I hardly think so. She's too small and doesn't like she has a lot of meat on her bones." Oh wow. Those just made her feel better. _Well,_ she thought, _at least I'm not mistaken for college freshman even though I am twenty-four_.

"But remember, Grace managed to slip through Darius's claws once so I wouldn't pass her if she managed to get out somehow."

"And she did say that she was at the demon's castle and I am willing to bet fifty drachmas that she was there when the attack happened."

Lila shifted from foot to another before she asked herself, _Why am I still here?_ She began walking down the hall away from the group with her hands supporting the back of her head, moving fast yet quietly so she could escape unnoticed.

She walked for awhile before coming into another room that looked like a training area. It was impressive to say the least. The arena looked a Roman Coliseum copy except the ceiling had water covering it like you'd see in an aquarium with fishes and all. Except in this case, Lila caught a couple of merpeople swimming by. Turning her head back to the coliseum, she could hear a couple grunts and… were those growls? Running seems good at the moment rather than walking.

Taking off past the marble pillars and walls, she ran straight into a dust field arena. What she saw pretty much made her stop and stare. There were a couple of dragons, again but this time they were fighting against what Lila wanted to say vampires, considering the fangs and pale skin that they supported, and another race that she wasn't familiar with. They looked human men but they appeared to be stronger and seductive. There was about fifteen in the whole total number, give or take a few. Giving her head a quick shake, she managed to keep an eye out for anyone coming her way before looking back on the fight, just in time to see a fireball careen her way.

"Arre," was all she had time to say before she tucked and rolled from the flaming ball's path, but she rolled a bit too far and fell over the arena wall with a thud and landing her body in an upside down position, top of the head on the ground while her legs were supported up on the wall behind her. Blinking her eyes to clear the dust from eyes she let out a small, "Oww," that was accompanied with a blank face.

Unfortunately, her escape didn't go unnoticed by the warriors that had stopped their brawl and pointed their gazes at her. Under the primal watch, Lila had the sudden urge to either hide behind something that was bigger than she was or stand with equal defiance.

Setting her body right side-up again, she stood up and began straighten her clothing before dusting the dirt away from her braid and clothes. "Don't mind me," she squeaked. "I just got myself lost and dat dis was de exit."

She inched herself closer to the opening that was about five feet on her left, "So if you will excuse my rude entrance, I'll be leaving." Before she could make it to the door, a huge red scaled claw landed right in front of her, preventing her one escape. Okay, so much for her escape plan.

The men that were human (?) formed a semicircle around Lila, trapping her back against the wall. One of the men stepped forward towards her and snaked an arm around her waist, his other hand forcing her chin up towards meet his pale face and eerie cold eyes. "Well, well, well. It looks like my snack is just in time for a quick break." His voice was deeply hypnotic, like a deep calming wave washing over.

Lila could feel her back become slack, but her mind quickly registered the guy that was trying to take a bite out of her was a vampire. While she still had her legs in control, she brought her knee up and got him where it hurts.

The vampire quickly released her and stumbled back in pain. He hissed lowly as his back hunched over his body. "You bitch!" he growled as he flashed his fangs.

She quickly positioned her body in a fighting stance: body turned sideways, feet shoulder's width apart, knees bent, and right hand in front while her left was over her head. "Back off. You touched me and I don't like it when de man dat's trying to pick me up happens to be vampire looking for a meal." She really wished she had her weapons right about now and prayed that she didn't have to fight all of them and judging by the count, she would have to say there were a half dozen gathered around her.

The dragon that blocked her way was now removing his claw from the doorway, but kept his eyes on Lila while his dragon scales receded back to human skin as he shrank from twenty feet tall to six in a matter of minutes. Lila quickly averted her eyes as she realized that the now human man that was standing in front of her with dark hair and brown eyes was also naked. He grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her through the doorway, past the arena and the other warriors with their confused expressions, and finally back into the jewel-crested hallway. Lila struggled and cried, "Let me go," as she dug her heels in the dirt while she was pulled but to no avail. His grip was past the point of blood stopping hurt that Lila couldn't but wince at the grip.

As she was pulled into what looked like the main dining hall, she noticed that in the center of the ivory room was a dragon-clawed table on top of an ebony floor. A huge bay windowed that overlooked an entire city was opened in the back. She couldn't help but hang her mouth open at the beauty. Her female cousins, a very few count, would have killed for this kind of room. Hooks were lined along a section of the wall, clothing hanging from each. Thankfully the warrior let go of her wrist and Lila drew the freed appendage to her chest, slighting rubbing the circulation back. The warrior grabbed the clothing from a hook and dressed. As he finished, he walked back around Lila and out the room, holding a medallion close to the door.

"Do not leave this room. My king would like to have a few words."

The deep, gruff voice echoed through the room. Lila slightly nodding her head, the warrior closed the door behind him.

Lila found herself alone in the room, extremely bored and extremely hungry. It was probably close to lunch right about now. She walked closer to the window and peered out into the distance. She could see the people that were walking in the streets of the stone and wood city. Outside the city, thick, rain-touched trees partially encircled the city. Colors from the trees passed from some as bright as dark emeralds to others as pure white as snow. Clear rivers and waterfalls wound their way through the thick foliage. Rainbow-colored birds painted the sky above as light shone over head from the dome above, bright and vibrant as the morning dusk gave way to midday light. Probably from a crystal instead the sun, Lila pondered. She could stare out into the scenery forever and feel contempt.

"I think this is about as close as I'll ever get to heaven," she breathed. She stared back into the vibrant and active city, amazed by the full number of creatures she noticed. Okay, not heaven. She could recognize some of the creatures such as the minotaurs, griffins, and centaurs that she met in the demon stockade. The others, however, were fairly new to her. There were women with ghoulish like skin with wings, men with a arm and a leg, and—"Holy shit!" She jumped back from the window, surprised by a dragon that just whooshed skywards past the window.

A familiar deep laugh greeted her ears and hands grasped her shoulders, "I'm surprised that such foul language came out of your lovely mouth, little one."

The sound of that laugh washed over her with waves of relaxation and want. She didn't even mind being called small with the way he caressed the name with his voice. _Wait! This is the guy that played dead after I 'accidently' rammed him and then he kissed me! _She immediately turned around, meeting his playful smile with her scowl of irritation. "Don't you have anything better to do other than irritate de hell out of me? You know, bugging friends, family….poisonous reptiles? And who are you anyway?"

After a small laugh and releasing her shoulders, he smiled as introduced himself. "I'm sorry that we never had the chance for a formal introduction." He did a mock bow and brought up her hand to place a kiss, "My name is Brand au Aronoc. Right hand man and second-in-command to the current Dragon King, Darius en Kragin. And now, I think that it would be fair if you told me your name, little one."

She didn't know if she beginning to hate or like way he called her little one. The way he said it was like a caress of his voice over her body. She gave out a small blush before saying, "De name's Lila Osiceca Fontenot, and I like to point out that I'm not dat small. You're just excessively tall."

Lila didn't notice that he still held her hand in his warm one as he straightened. Her guess was right about his height. About 6' 10" give or take a few inches. She couldn't help but stare back into his warm golden eyes. She could get lost easily in his stare and wouldn't want to come back out.

The sound of the door opening broke the gaze between them as they both turned around to see three men walk in. Lila had to look around Brand to get a better view and she immediately felt the muscles in her body tightened. The first of the group had jet-black hair, ice cold blue eyes and a scowl on his face. She probably could guess that he was a dragon as well, considering the fact that he had a dragon medallion around his neck as well. The second man exuded an aura of sexuality so it couldn't hurt to assume that he was a nymph. That and the fact he had a nice tan body and bright blonde hair that would have most women drooling over him. Finally, the last one pale white skin and hair so blond that it looked white. As they drew closer, Lila could guess that either all three had to be the top warriors of their race or they're the kings that she remembered hearing about.

Lila looked down to see her hand still being held by Brand's warm hand. It diminished the size of her hand to almost doll-like. She quickly retracted her hand from his, feeling the blush that was coming up to her ears by now. Brand chuckled at her shyness and turned to Darius, she assumed. "Found our little warrior that you wanted to meet Darius."

Lila's eyes met with Darius's cold ones as he examined her stature, circling around her body and Lila followed every move. Honestly, the way this guy carried himself, it looked like he could snap her neck and she wouldn't even know. Deeply, his voice emitted, "I doubt that a small human woman would bring an entire squadron of demons to their knees and free all of the captives."

Lila felt the blood in her veins heat. Small? She hated being judged on her height, let alone being others being ignorant about her abilities just because of her height, but still she remained silent and watched the vampire talk.

"Do not let my mate hear you say that. Though I have to agree with you," He stepped forward, bringing his cold hand up to her chin to make her look up. Lila had to subdue a shudder at the contact of the cold flesh. "She does seem rather small for her to be even a fighter, let alone take on demons and come out of it with minimal injuries." He released her chin, stepping back to the group.

Lila continued to glare at them as the nymph king spoke lightheartedly. "I don't know, Layel. The way she's glaring at us is saying something different. Looks like we have another Darius on our hands."

Brand stood next to her as he brought an arm around her shoulders. "The way I saw her kicking those demon's asses from her to the underworld and back, I'd say that she's got some fire in her."

Finally, Lila snapped as she pinched the hand on her shoulder with her sharp one centimeter nails. "I suggest you don't talk about a person's disadvantages when de person is right here," she growled.

Brand had the nerve to chuckle again, "My, my. She speaks finally, and she has a temper to match. You're right, Valerian. It looks like we indeed have a Darius in a human's body and a woman to boot."

A punch slammed into Brand's jaw, making him let go of Lila. Her knuckle throbbed with pain and her head with frustration as she pulled back her hand. Usually her punches would either knock out the guy or give him a shiner, but this guy's jaw felt like she was just punched stone.

Brand stood there, stunned for a few seconds, before popping his jaw and chuckling again. "Like I said, temper to match with some of that fire."

Lila growled out of pure frustration, grasping her loose bangs, "Look. If y'all are just going to examine me like some guinea pig or lab rat, then consider me gone. I'm finding my way home if you don't mind."

She walked around the group and didn't get far as she was lifted from the ground by the collar of her vest. She kicked and struggled, trying her best to kick something. "Let me go!" she cried. She felt herself being turned around while being suspended in the air. The one that was holding her was Darius. It was bad considering she felt like a scruffed pup.

"You're not going anywhere until we have some answers as to what happened between you and the demons, and why is a human here, when all of the portals to the surface are guarded carefully."

"How de hell should I know?" she retorted. "I was out on my ranch when I was pulled through some weird whirlpool that sucked me in and I didn't even know where my horse is!"

"How about thinking back to anything that you may have encountered before you came here that was out of the ordinary?" Darius asked. His patience was just about running thin.

"Dat's going to be a little hard to do considering I'm a magnet for de out-of-de -ordinary."

"Then I suggest you think harder."

Lila was just about ready to scream when the door opened again. She tried her best to turn her head to see and what walked in filled her body with relief. A dainty, but very pregnant red-head wearing a light emerald knee dress with a matching emerald necklace began walked towards them. Grace. "What's with all the shouting? I can hear practically everything from the room," she asked.

Lila tried squirming again, "Put me down!" All too quickly, she landed on her butt with an, "Owww," and began to stand up with help from Brand. She turned to see Darius fretting over his mate, his hands lightly stroking over her shoulders.

"You shouldn't be walking, Grace, especially with the twins so close."

"I'm fine Darius. I'm pregnant, not missing an arm and a leg. I can still do other things."

Lila pretty much just about ran up to Grace, but stopped short when she her pregnant belly. "Gracey!"

Grace looked over to see Lila standing right there a few feet away. "Lila!" The two hugged the best they can, Lila being careful of Grace's protruding belly. Grace pulled away to see her missed friend. "When did you get here? HOW did you get here?"

"Like I said, I don't know. I was riding around my ranch when I was pulled into some whirlpool. But what about you? How are you, considering dat you're pregnant and have been missing for de past couple of months."

Grace smiled at the question. "I'm fine. I couldn't be more happy here. I see you already met my husband and the other leaders."

Lila pondered her statement again. Husband? "I'm sorry, but who is your husband?"

Grace laughed at Lila's confused face, "Well, the term husband doesn't quite suit. In Atlantis, we use the term 'mates' and you already met him, Darius." She gestured to him right beside her and Lila's hairs stood on end.

"Oh, lovely," Lila plastered a smile, though her eyebrow twitched, "We already had the pleasure of being introduced."

Grace looked at Darius when she saw her friends fake smile and threw him a 'What did you do?' look. He gave her a scowl back. Grace sighed at this, grabbing Lila's hand. "You must be starving. How about we get you some food and then we'll talk."

"But I'm not-," Lila argued before she was cut off by the loud rumbling of her stomach, blushing at the noisy volume of the rumbling anatomy. Okay, maybe some food would help. "I guess it wouldn't hurt to have something to eat."

Grace smiled at the agreement and pulled Lila away from the men. "Perfect. We'll eat in the gardens. I have some friends that I want you to meet." And with that, Grace successfully left the room with Lila, leaving behind several confused men.

Brand scratched the back of his head asking, "What in Hades just happened?"

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**Aaaannnndddd scene! Yes! A new chapter finish for All Hallow's Eve and Halloween. Please remember to leave reviews for me. They are like the candy for my trick-or-treating. No flames please, but some constructive criticism is welcomed. Also remember to check out my other stories as well.  
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	8. Chapter 7

**Hey Everybody. I know everybody has patiently waited for this chapter to get done. I truly from the bottom of my heart apologize for the long wait. I'm trying to get my university application ironed out and I was in an area in Texas where there's no internet service for the rest of the summer through the beginning of October, and basically I just got in last night...Denver was totally freezing my butt off. **

**This is for everybody who has patiently waited for this chapter to be uploaded. Enjoy! =^-^=**

**Disclaimer: Ya know the drill...**

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**Chapter 7**

"Ya know for a small woman, Gracey, you've got a lot of arm muscle." Lila noted as she was being pulled down the hall to god knows where in this crazy place that she found out was Atlantis. Lila couldn't help but notice the many jewels that littered the walls, along with a couple of tapestries here and there. It caught her interest, considering that they had dragons on the massive frame of cloth.

"Oh, come on. I don't have that much strength," replied the petite red-head. "Besides, knowing you, you'll want the full story as to where you are, right?" Lila nodded as she continued to let her friend guide her.

Grace slowed down as they both came upon a massive door. The next thing Lila saw was Grace reaching down towards her dress pocket and pulling out another dragon medallion. Pretty soon, the medallion glowed slightly and the doors groaned open.

Lila gasped as she saw the beautiful forest scenery unfold behind the doors. If she thought that what she previously saw in the dining hall was heaven, she must be in nirvana or something higher. As they both stepped outside, the trees seem to encircle around them, flowers of different colors and types were scattered, giving a sense of harmony towards nature. The whistles and calls of birds filled the air as some began to take to the air.

As Lila looked upon the scenery with awe, Grace began to lead her down a path that went straight into the tree line. "I have a few friends waiting for me. They'll probably give you a lot more details than me about Atlantis." Lila nodded as she noted that the path itself was clean; something like a zoo would place in a greenhouse/tropical environment.

After a few minutes of walking, they came upon a small circular clearing the tree line. A dark marble table was at the far edge of the clearing, the canopy keeping a cool shade over the dark table set instead of a parasol. Lila could see that three other women were sitting on a couple of empty stone seats with a couple of extra ones around the table.

Right off the bat, Lila couldn't help but notice the long length of blue hair from one of the women who was sitting next a small brunette. She was sitting down on one of the smoothed seats and seemed to carry an aura of power around her, even though she was just talking to the other woman. Speaking of which, she had her back turned and all Lila could make out was the sheer white hair that cascaded down her back like a waterfall, caressing the white dress that hugged every curve of the woman's lightly shaded body.

A slight tinge of familiarity went through Lila at that moment. She knew only of one person, whose hair was so blonde in color, it seemed to turn white under the sun. "Shaye Octavia Holling, is dat you or did I hit my head harder than I thought I did?"

Shaye turned her head as soon as she heard a voice that she was sure that would never turn up here. Her only friend from her childhood years, "Lila Osiceca Fontenot, as I live and breathe. Didn't expect to see your ugly mug here of all places." She pulled the petite dark brunette warrior into a massive bear-hug that was warmly returned before she let go of Lila, "Though why _are_ you here?"

"Dat's what I wanna know." Lila shrugged. Noticing the stares that were coming from the table, Lila looked around Shaye. "And whose company are we in?"

Shaye turned back onto their company and began to introduce everyone to Lila. "Lila, I would like to introduce the Vampire's Queen and Layel's mate, Delilah." She indicated towards the blue haired woman.

Now that Lila could see her full features, she could see that her color wasn't that of a vampire's, rather her skin tone looked like the between set of an olive complexion and her own tone when she was out on the ranch. "You're not a vampire, are you Miss Delilah?" she asked without reserve.

"No, I am not." Delilah answered in kind with a chuckle. "Rather, I am from a tribe of Amazonians and have been with my mate for only a few months now." She rubbed the barely noticeable bulge through her dress. Lila saw this and guessed that she could be in her second or third month, until Delilah brought her out of her train of thought. "And please, just call me Delilah."

Lila just laughed. "Can do, ma'am."

Shaye continued the introductions, going to the tiny brunette. "And this is Brenna Johnston," as she nodded her head in acknowledgement. "She's mated to Dorian and is the Nymph's doctor."

Lila's memory clicked as she brought her fisted hand into her other one. "Oh, I knew you looked familiar. I remember seeing a news broadcast about a year ago coverin' a major highway accident in Florida and you were one of de doctors that was at da scene."

Brenna nodded her head to acknowledge the statement and continued to stay silent. Lila thought that she might have said too much when Shaye spoke up. "Don't worry. Brenna doesn't really say much and she can get shy sometimes."

Lila breathed a sigh of relief as she was pulled down to sit next to Grace, who sat down at the beginning of introductions, and Shaye. She looked down and saw that several platters of fruits, meats, cheese, and water were laid about the table. Again Lila's stomach decided to make its presence known. "Hey, is it alright if I can eat? I didn't have much of breakfast this mornin'." They all nodded and Lila dug in. After eating some peppered meat with cheese, her stomach finally calmed down and after a glass of sweet water, she was ready to talk. "So where exactly am I?"

The question was put out to everybody, but it was Delilah who answered her. "Well, to be specific, you are in the Forest of Dragons which is surrounding the Inner City in Atlantis."

"And what exactly is the Inner City?" Lila asked.

"The Inner City is one of the two environs that make up the city of Atlantis." Shaye answered. "The Inner City is the area where most of the trade and commerce are centered. It's also where most of the peaceful Atlantean races live such as the centaurs. The outcasts and more ferocious races reside in and around the Outer City such as the demons and the Gorgons. The fort where you were held was in the countryside near the forests that surround the city."

Lila just nodded as she took in the information, her chin covered by her palm. "Okay. Dat's one down. Next question is how in de world did I get here?" She grabbed some the fruit next to her and began nibbling on it.

This time, it was Grace. "That's what we were hoping you would tell us. The only way we know of entering Atlantis is through the Mists and we haven't received any word of anybody using them."

That caught her attention. "De Mists?"

Grace nodded. "The Mists are the portals that connect Atlantis to the surface world. I only know of two." She held up two fingers. "One is protected by the Dragons, the others is being protected by the Nymphs."

"However," Shaye jumped in. "The portal that's under the Dragons protection is barracked on the human side, which happens to be in the Amazon forest, and the Nymph's portal leads out into the bottom of the Atlantic, just off the coast of Florida, so it kind of rules out the Mists."

"Actually I came here 'cuz of dis thing." Lila pulled the amulet over her head and placed the crystal at the center of the table. "Somebody gave dat to me 'bout two weeks ago. Didn' really get his name."

Everybody seemed to focus on the amulet before Grace grabbed it and began to trace it with her fingers, her eyes widening with, Lila could guess, shock. "Lila, do you know what this is?" Then Shaye grabbed amulet as well.

Lila just shook her head.

"Lila. That is a _Ra-Dracus_, a dragon medallion that is given to a Dragon warrior at a very young age."

"Dat would explain de dragon etching." Lila murmured.

"Lila, do you remember what he looked like, the man that gave you the medallion?" Shaye asked.

Lila scratched the back of her head as she recalled the memory. "Well, he was tall, scary blue eyes, dark-dark hair dat was in a low ponytail, and he must have had been telekinetic or very analytical, 'cuz he even knew where I was goin' when I meet him."

Everybody pondered on this until Shaye asked Delilah, "Does that fit any of the descriptions of the gods that you know of, Delilah?"

"No." She replied, her blue locks moving back and forth with her head. "I do not recognize any of the gods fitting her description. But even at that, the gods have the power to re-shape their appearances to look like anyone, so it could have been any one of the gods."

Lila couldn't help but snort at that comment. "Yeah. I've heard of de legends back on de surface, how de gods like to disguise demselves to ….umm… have some _fun_ with the human race."

Everybody seemed to be in unison upon agreeing with the statement, murmuring their own opinions. Lila was just about to ask something before a resounding _bang_ echoed through the trees, the birds scattering from their perches with whistles in the air to follow. Silence filled the air for about a minute or so before another _bang_ soon followed. "What the?"

"What do suppose that was?"

" Sounded like someone colliding with something hard."

"I would say that someone pissed off somebody, again."

From the distance, Lila determined that whatever made that sound, it was very close by and it didn't sound like a no brawl to her. Pretty soon, her suspicions were confirmed when another woman made a dash out of the forest path. Once she stopped, Lila could see this one had the aura of an warrior and it furthered verified with the sword that was hanging menacingly from her belt. What made Lila look back was her eyes. They were red.

Like those damn demons that she had the pleasure of running into and away from.

She decided to keep quiet before jumping into anything. Remember, to assume makes an ass outta her and the other.

"Alyssa, what is going on?" Delilah questioned the female warrior.

"Forgive me for intruding," Alyssa bowed. "But we have a problem. I am looking for human woman that goes by the name of Lila."

"Dat'd be me." Lila raised her hand as she stood up and moved towards Alyssa. "What seems to be de problem?"

"You were rescued from the demon's fortress along with your mount, is that correct?"

"Yeah. By de way, where is my horse?"

"That is why I have come to find you. The men have been trying to calm him down, but he keeps retaliating whenever we try to get close to him. He's already taken out three men and it seems that he does not want to calm down until you are with him."

"Den what are we doin' here yappin' our mouths? Lead the way."

And with that Lila set off after Alyssa, hoping that they would get there in time before any more damage gets done.

Meanwhile, Shaye and Grace didn't seem to be a bit fazed by the situation but it did leave Delilah and Brenna a little baffled. "What…?"

Grace decided to break the ice. "Yeah. Lila is not your average human."

That didn't help Delilah's train of thought. "How so?"

"Lila has this ability to talk to animals and hear the animals in her mind."

Delilah just shook her head. "That does not sound what your world would apply as normal, but I still find it hard to believe that someone of her stature, especially since she is human, to escape a demon stronghold with countless of prisoners."

Grace looked at Shaye and both broke out into a chesire cat smile. "How about we show you rather than explain?"

Delilah and Brenna were in agreement as they followed the crisis.

* * *

To say it was in utter chaos, that would be an understatement. That's what Brand was thinking when he was brought to the stables. It looked like all of Hades was unleashed. Wood was splintered, bits of dirt and hay were flying all over the place, and casted everywhere, at least three of his comrades were flung to the sides like rag dolls, and there in the center of the ground, a thrashing horse that showed no signs of stopping. He had to something otherwise calm this ….beast down. He had a little gut feeling saying that it was his fault that the mount was going crazy.

Taking a non-threatening stance, he tried to approach the horse with his hands up. "Easy boy, easy." That didn't go so well as Niyol brought down his hoof a little-too-close-for-comfort to his head. Brand tried that again, …and again, ….and again, with the same result as the first time, except with a few scratches on the second time. So he tried the next best thing and probably the most stupidest thing you could do to calm down a buck-wild horse: try to get on the saddle and onto the horse. And success he did achieve and stayed on for a good couple of minutes, so after a few grunts and heavy breathing from both Brand and Niyol, guess who went sailing and skid across the dirt for a few yards.

After a few moments, Brand felt the wind leave his lungs and then the slight pain on his back for skidding on dry dirt. Blinking the dirt away from his eyes, he could see that he was staring straight at the crystal dome that showed a that is was little after noon, and a dark familiar head popped into his line of sight. Except she was upside-down and a small frown marred her too-pretty of a face. He couldn't help but point out, "If you keep frowning like that, you're pretty little face is going to be stuck like that."

"What de hell d'you try to do?" Lila's voice laced with confusion and-maybe, he thought- concern. She was bending so close to him, her face was just poised over his a few good inches. He could feel the coolness of her fingers brush across his forehead as if trying to get a temperature. And he didn't miss the widening of her eyes as she just realized something. "Oh, please tell me dat ya didn't something stupid while my horse was in a rage."

He couldn't help but joke, "So what would you label as trying to get on the horse while it was mad?"

"I'd call dat pretty damn stupid and what de hell were ya thinking' when dat thought was going through ya head?" she grunted out as she helped the hulking blond giant-err dragon into sitting upright.

"I was one of the few that was trying to calm down your raging mount." He dusted the dirt away from the back of his head. Next thing he saw was Lila trying to approach the mad horse. She had her hands up to calm the horse, shouting some kind of word that was not familiar to him as far as the English language every once in a few moments of silence but Brand could see the concentration in her eyes. Pretty soon, Niyol was softly nickering and neighing, rubbing his long nose against Lila's palm.

Lila grabbed the reins of Niyol's bit and brought him close to a post to tie the reins. As she moved to remove her saddle bags, she felt someone come up behind her and sure enough as she saw out of the corner of her eye. It didn't help her any that she kept feeling shivers racing up and down her body. She could have sworn that she felt his breath on the back of her neck, the fine line of hairs sticking up like on a hissing cat. She began pulling out what she needed, when Brand asked, "So, what was it that you said to calm down the horse?"

She pulled out her sais and latched them on to her belt. "I said _alto_. It's Spanish for stop." She pulled out a buttoned leather pouch that was decorated with native bead designs and dropped it onto his hands. "Hold dis please."

Brand looked at the pouch with curiosity as she began to unlatch more of her weapons. "Spanish?" Brand asked as he opened the pouch and pulled out a small, slender, cylinder-like object that was somewhat flat, soft, and smelled enticingly good. "Never heard of it. The only tongue I've heard other than Atlantean is English." Curiosity won him over as he took a small bite. After nibbling on it for a few moments, he decided that he liked the taste. It was slightly sweet and fulfilling, almost like something he had when he was little, something that his mother would make for him when he was a hatchling, back when his family was still alive. He shook that depressing thought out of his head and turned back to Lila, her voice answering back as he continued eating the newly discovered morsel, soon starting on another one.

"Can't say dat I'm surprised. It's one of de many languages used on de surface." She strapped her sword, still tucked safely in it's sheath, to her side and her staff, bow and arrows to her back, while the tonfas slide securely into her boots. She turned to face Brand and saw him eating out of the pouch. She lifted an eyebrow. "Can I have de pemmican back?" She held out her hand, giving him a flat stare.

Brand looked down at the pouch and then back at her. "The what?"

"De pemmican. Dat small snack you're eatin' right there. Can I have it back please?" She lightly shook her hand to prove the point. Without hesitation, he gave back her pouch, but not without stealing another and giving Lila an innocent look. Lila just playfully swatted at him on the shoulder, Brand laughing softly as she hefted her saddle bags off Niyol. She turned back to Brand and she saw that he was staring down at her, his eyes glazed over with something that Lila didn't really want to find out, his smile still there. "Can you show me where de guest quarters are?"

"Yes, right this way." And with that, Brand showed the way back inside for Lila.

They walked down the halls in perfect silence. In fact, after a few minutes, it was so quiet, Brand had to keep looking to his left as they came close to the quarters to make sure Lila was still actually there. '_Not much of a talker'_, he concluded. "Not much of a talker are you?"

"Don't talk unless I have ta." she answered.

They left it as that as Brand stopped in front of a closed room, signaling Lila to stop as well. He lightly lifted his _Ra-Dracus, _the doors silently opening as the medallion's crystal glowed. They strode into room and Lila stopped at the sight of room. It was the same room that she woke up in. "Why am I back here again?"

He answered, turning towards her, "This is my quarters, and where you will be staying for the time you are here in Atlantis."

Lila shook her head. "No. As far as I'm concerned, I already dropped by without an invite. I don't wanna bother anymore people den I have ta, and I'm not sharin' room with a man dat I don't even know."

Just as Lila turned back to walk out, Brand grabbed her wrist. "Listen. The way I see it, you can stay with me and not have to worry about coming into your quarters, or spend all your nights keeping guard because those quarters are public and have more than one bed per a room and the people that do sleep there are other men that are not even human." Brand hoped that it sounded convincing. The guest quarters did have more than one bed per a room but hardly anybody uses them and the only ones who could use them were the dragons.

Lila thought about for a while before asking, "How do I know _you _ain't gonna take advantage of me while I sleep?"

Brand held up his hand. "You have my word on my family's grave and upon my honor as a warrior."

Lila let out a reluctant sigh. "All right."

Brand nodded as Lila walked past him to set her stuff near the room's closet and continued towards the window. She planted her elbows on the window ledge and rested her forehead against her palms, another long breath escaping her frame as her shoulders went slack. She looked worried, tired, over-all worned out. Brand drew closer to Lila as leaned his back against the wall on her left. He could see that there were multitudes of thoughts running across her mind, and, strangely, he wanted to know her thoughts, her conflicts to give her some sort of relief from this day. Something that he was not used to when it came to the woman he had found…_interesting_. No doubt that she had been through a rough day. "What are thinking about, sweet siren?" he asked almost softly.

Her head shot up, her eyes wide with slight shock at the adornment as her head turned towards him, cheeks colored with a hint of a blush. "What you say?" she asked, greatly confused.

He resist the urge to chuckle at her reaction, biting his tongue as he smiled. He couldn't help it. She just looked so blessed cute. "I called you a siren. I hope it doesn't offend you in any way." He came closer, now leaning against the stones that frame the window. Now that he was closer to her, his heightened senses picked up on the light scent that was so uniquely hers. He took another deep breath, letting his lungs expand in his chest, taking the fresh breeze that gently rolled into the room. Her scent… he couldn't described it. It was almost like walking into a bakery that had fresh hot bread just come out of the ovens. Suddenly it became one of his favorite scents.

She let out a soft chuckle. "No. It's not dat. I just never been called somethin' like dat before."

Now that was surprising. "Really now?" he asked in earnest.

"Yep." She brought a hand close to the long braid that laying on her left shoulder, flicking the wrist so the hair was now on her back. "Other dan my family, I never really received a comment like what you said. Anyway, to answer your question," she breathed in deep before continuing, "I'm debatin' whether or not if this is really, ya know, real."

"I'm afraid I quite don't understand that." Brand clarified.

She crooked her finger towards him and he followed, watching her scoot over slightly to make room for him to see the view she was gesturing at. "Tell me. What do you see when you look onto the scene?"

He looked out and Brand could see the Inner City was as lively as it ever was. Merchants of different races were marketing off their trade to customers, a group of nymph and dragon children chasing a colorful flock of birds through the village rafters, a few centaurs gathered around a table in a brassiere, and a mixed group of minotaurs and dragons carrying a huge package through the city and towards some houses. All in all, he saw that the Inner City was peaceful and thriving. "I see my home, my people, living and flourishing in this time of peace, hatchlings playing in the streets without the worry of hardships, and other races of Atlantis helping each other without the conflicts of prejudice. What do you see?"

When she heard his question, her lips curved upwards into that same smile he saw in his dream, that same smile that still took his breath away. He almost missed what she said because of his intense stare onto that smile. "I see a world dat survived on de surface world solely on de whispered tales passed down through de generations, from father ta son, mother ta daughter, and grandparent ta grandchild. A world dat was rumored ta be so mythical and legendary, few believed in its existence." She turned towards him, her smile still on her face while a small trill of laughter escaped from Lila. "And with creatures from stories as it's inhabitants, it can only seem ta be a dream of one's over-active imagination."

He returned her statement with one of his own. " I can understand your awe and astonishment. When we first learned that we can actually leave Atlantis, we all wondered what the surface world would be like, to actually see the never-ending sky rather than ocean dome we so grown accustomed to, to see if Atlantis was anything like the surface world, but we never ventured past the Mists for fear of the punishment if we do."

That caught Lila's interest as she slightly tilted her head. "What kind of punishment is it dat has everybody scared into not seein' de surface world?" she asked.

"It is not so much as a punishment, rather it is the restriction of the Atlantean body. If we do make it past the Mists, we can only survive a handful of days on the surface before our body's begin to grow weak and then we fade into dust." He answered somberly. Even if he only heard of it through Darius's venture to the surface world to bring back Grace, he could still remember the chills that were sent down his body when Darius told the men that if another should ever leave Atlantis, he highly doubt it that they would come back with their lives.

Lila's color seemed to blanch a little before she cleared her throat. "Well, dat puts quite a damper on things, don't it?" She hoped that he caught the little joking tone without taking it the wrong way.

He didn't as she saw a small grin spread over his face. "You are not one to take warnings seriously, siren?"

"Not exactly. I just try to lighten the mood with a joke whenever I'm issued death warnings and warrants for my life." She added. They both laughed. Lila looked back onto the scene and watch the crowd began to disperse as the dome above showed the colors of dusk and nightfall.

Brand watched as the multitude of dark colors were reflected onto Lila's skin. Shades of violet, orange, and red flicker over, making her appear almost phantom-like and for a split second, he feared that she would disappear along with the breeze. He also noticed the yawn that escaped her as she covered her hand over her opened mouth. Her eyelids drooped to half slits as she tiredly rubbed the back of her neck. Brand placed a hand lightly on her shoulder as if to lightly wake her back up. "The night is almost upon us. Why don't you put on something more comfortable before you sleep."

She didn't vocalize her answer, just gave a sleepy nod of her head before making her back to her saddle bags as Brand continued to watch the dome grow darker, and darker, until it almost showed the dark blue of the night as it reflected down on to the water on top of the dome. He noticed that it was only five minutes ago that Lila went to her belongings and she had been quiet since. Turning back around, Brand couldn't help but smile at the sight of what he found. Lila was leaning against the wall in a kneeling position with one hand in her bag and the other resting in her lap. She still had the clothing from the day still on, so it was safe to say that the exhaustion of the day had finally caught up with her and she just gave in.

With much practiced graced, he quietly went to Lila, not so much as a peep escaped him as he drew closer to the sleeping person. He knelt down, gently removing the hand that was in the bag and placed it on top of the other on her lap. Brand saw that she had taken off her boots and were on the other side of the bags, the taped handles of her tonfas sticking out of the mouth. While carefully avoiding the strapped on weapons, he gathered the petite woman into his arms and lifted her up as he straighten. Not surprisingly, she felt as if she weighed nothing more than a feather, even right now she seemed so innocent. To think that someone this tiny and seemingly frail could hold so much fire and honor in her soul, and then convert it into prowess onto her enemies, he would have never believed it if she wasn't here right now in his arms.

Brand carried Lila towards the bed, gently laying her on top of the blankets as if she was a figure of delicate glass. Once his eyes landed on the band that was holding her braid together, he softly coaxed the band off the tip and he began to comb the braid out with his fingers, lightly massaging her scalp as he went higher and higher on the braid.

_Like silk_. That was the one thing that was running through his head as he felt the strands of hair slide through his fingers, watching the braid become more undone until all parts were laying around her like a crown of black water. He saw that she even had some light dustings of brown that seemed to be woven into her hair, blending in with the black.

Lightly turning her onto her side, he searched her back until he found the buckle that held the weapons and unbuckled the straps, moving the sheaths away from her back and next to the bed. Next, he undid the belt around her waist and laid it next to the swords, the armory lightly clicking with each other. He was barely getting some ideas together as to how to go about her clothing until he heard the doors open. He saw Grace and Shaye walk into the room.

"Brand, can you step outside with me for a moment?" Grace made a gesture towards the hall and Brand followed without question. Shaye walked past him, reaching into Lila's saddle bag and pulled something that he couldn't quite see as he walked onto the hallway. Brand sensed the doors closing behind him as he paid attention to the petite redhead in front of him.

"Grace, you have a sense of good timing. I was just thinking of getting your help for Lila's sleeping arrangement." Brand commented pertly.

Grace laughed. "I figured this might happened. Though I didn't count on you of all people to be lending her board and room."

Brand rubbed the corner of his jaw, his grin was puckish. "Well, let's just say that I am a nice guy and be willing to help a beautiful woman in her time of need."

"Really now?" Grace arched an eyebrow. "Well, just don't do anything that you wouldn't do to your own sister. But then again, when it comes to Lila, I'm more worried about what she might do to you rather than you to her."

"She is that fierce?" He questioned.

"Not once you get to know her. Just if you provoke her, she will fight back. I have seen her take down a guy that was well over a foot and at least hundred pounds heavier than her, all because he insulted her background. Anyway, that's not why I came out here for." She looked left and right, making sure there was no one in the hall to over hear them. "You saw how Lila calmed down her horse right?"

Brand nodded, implying for Grace to continue.

"Lila is a very special person and I'm not talking personality-wise. For as long as I can remember, she's had a gift, unlike other humans, and that gift gives her the ability to communicate with animals and given her animal-like abilities."

Brand's brow furrowed. "Animal-like abilities such as…?"

"You saw how quick her reflexes are," Grace smoothed the dress over her protruding belly. "Everything that makes her her, from her fighting to how she walks, she has learned or gained from the animals she knew in the past, and as for as her gift; to truly understand it, you would have to understand Lila, spend some time with her to see what makes her tick."

Just as Brand was about to comment, Shaye popped out the door. "Lila's still asleep, but she's changed. She'll wake up nice and comfortable in the morning."

Grace nodded and turned back to Brand. "Just don't anything that might leave you missing a few limbs here and there."

"Upon my life and honor." Brand vowed.

And with that, Brand moved back into room and the door shut behind him, leaving him in almost silence of the darkened room, except for the light breathing coming from the bed. Lila was dressed in a modest nightgown that seemed to hug her curves in the right ways. He could see the air breathe into her chest, enhancing the swells of her pert breasts, the curves of her waist and slightly toned belly being hugged by the silk material, the hem ending at her middle thigh, giving him an eyeful of smooth legs that seemed to go on forever.

A light smile touched Brand's lips. She was everything he could have envisioned in a woman, truly a siren who's almost piercing eyes could match the fire within her soul.

He scowled. What was this feeling he was now experiencing? It was almost the same as he was with the Amazon warrioress, Nola, during the time he was captured and forced to partake in a game for the gods' amusement, but it was different. He had wanted to protect her, yes, but with Lila, he wanted to do more. So much more.

He wanted see and make her smile and laugh, to see her eyes flare up whenever she was mad, to hear her voice cry out with totally abandonment to pleasure, and know her secrets and likes. Was this what Darius felt when he met Grace? Was this…love? He shook his head. No, he will leave those questions for another time. Tonight he will have a peaceful sleep. The first in a long while.

Ever so gently, he placed himself on the bed, careful in giving Lila some space. Funny because as soon as he relaxed, Lila sleepily shifted, moving her head close to Brand's shoulder, a hand lightly caressing the skin over his heart. Brand went stiff when she moved, and only did he hear Lila sigh that he relaxed again.

Gods above, how he so badly wanted to take her.

Just a touch…Such an alluring idea. Surely there was no wrong in a touch since she laid so close to him. After debating with his conscious, he gently let his arm slid underneath her and around her shoulders, bringing slightly closer. She almost seemed to purr right then, a faint smile touched her mouth.

Brand could recall the feel and touch of her lips earlier that day. What a heady drug her kiss seemed to be. So soft and sweet. So vexing and alluring. He wanted kiss those sensuous lips again. He wanted to know what those lips would feel like on other places than his mouth as well, but no, he gave his word to both her and Grace that he would not touch her while she was vulnerable.

Another thought came into his head. Though he would stick to his promise, that didn't mean that he could make her want him. And oh how he wanted her. Sliding his arm from her shoulders to her tiny waist, he let his eyelids droop close, letting his mind wander and ponder on how he would make her want him tomorrow until he slept.

* * *

**And scene! Hope everybody enjoyed that chapter. I'm working on the next chapter of The Chronicles and this upcoming chapter...  
If anybody has any suggestions or ideas to use in this story or in my other fanfiction stories, I'm all ears. I hopin' at least five reviews to know that there are people readin' this...**

**By the way. I just got a DeviantArt profile and posted my drawing of Lila so if you want to check out: h t t p:/ /juliannatala. deviantart. com / #/ d4k3yog  
**

**Push the Button...Ya know ya want 2**

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	9. Chapter 8 Part A

**...I have no excuse for being so late and/or considered dead. I can only offer my most sincerest apologies for those who are still holding on to this story. No I am not giving up on either of my stories, it's just that this past couple of years have been really REALLY busy. **

**Long story short...I essentially went from full-time college student taking care of my toddler niece to a US sailor with a really long work schedule.**

**So without further ado, I bid you welcome to the latest update!**

**Disclaimer:...Meh you know the drill.**

* * *

**Chapter 8 Part A**

The morning light flourished through the oceanic dome that lay overhead of the underwater city. One of those rays landed smack dab on to Lila's eyes, causing her face to pinch and roll over onto her side, her back against the offending light. She would have fallen right back to sleep, if it wasn't for the low rumbling she felt through her back. Her eyes snapped open as she felt something big behind her and was currently using her as a human teddy bear as she was thinking, _How in the world did I get into this situation? _

All of yesterday seemed to flash through her mind's eye as she remembered her answer.

To prove it, she gently rolled back onto her other side and saw Brand still sleeping.

Right. He had offered his room while she was, in less of a better term, stuck in a city that was supposed to be lost for all of time. But how in the world she got into his bed, only the spirits and the good lord knows. She would have to ask him about that when he woke up.

Feeling a bit chilly, she reached down to pull the blanket closer and noticed that instead of her usual attire, she was in her sleeping gown that packed in case of emergencies. Plus her hair was out of the usual braid she had it and was now spiraled out on the pillows. Again she would have to ask him when he woke up.

She looked back up to Brand's face and noticed how peaceful he looked, almost innocent like. Not the exactly the same expression she saw when he first saw her, but something gentler and mellowed out. His usual braid was gone too, leaving the hair to fall behind him, the sun hitting it just right to make it look like gold thread. Dowsing the need to touch it, she focused more on his face, taking in the fact that someone sooooo indescribably handsome was this close to her and actually felt something other than friendship or distaste (which was few to none) towards her.

Lila just sighed. Usually she was so calm-minded and focused, but around this man, she was just about as straight as one of those Picasso paintings that always left her confused. Most of the time, her entire body felt completely hot, close to searing, when his eyes caught hers. Other times, she wanted to either laugh or wring his neck. In short, she felt like one big messy puddle.

Feeling her body temperature near sky-rocket again, she tried to take a few calming breaths. It would have worked if she didn't feel his hands all of a suddenly latch onto her butt almost ferociously.

All rationality flew straight out of her mind as she screamed rather indignantly. Brand jolted up and blinked sleepily as Lila's uppercut move sailed right into his jaw, sending him off the bed.

Brand untangled his legs from the blanket that was pulled off with him and looked up over the bed at the now scarlet-red woman. He stood up, taking in Lila as she seemed to frozen in place, her fist balled up in the air, her face in ferocious way that almost reminded him of Darius's ticked off expression. He thought it was still quite cute though, the way she was breathing hard and her entire body nearly flushed.

Holding his now smarting jaw, he asked while still holding that tiny smile, "Anybody ever tell you that you have mean right hook?"

That seemed to wake her up as a look of shock then embarrassment crossed her face. "I'm sorry." She said as she rubbed the back of her neck. "I didn't mean to punch ya. It's just dat it's a _really_ nasty reflex of mine to punch whoever surprised me."

He let go of his jaw and sat on the bed, getting a little closer to her but not close enough to make her uncomfortable. "It's all right. I heard someone once say, 'No harm, no foul', so I won't hold against you, though it is a clever reflex." He smiled when he saw her relax, her tiny frown turning into a smile as well.

They just sat there peacefully until Lila's stomach rumbled for attention. He chuckled when her face went red again and grumbled out a "Sorry".

He clapped a hand onto her shoulder. "There's a bath in the next room." He pointed towards the doorway that had a curtain hanging over it instead of a door, the light mist creeping from underneath the material that seemed to dance in the sunlight. "I'm sure you would want a clean wash from yesterday, no?"

She nodded and got off the bed, going towards her pack that was still leaning against the wall to grab her pants, and a clean set. Good thing she always packed a clean set of clothing in her pack. Family Rule #38: Pack clean and light.

Brand watched her as she did this, now noticing some strange markings on her back and neck but unable to quite make it out. As she dug through pack, he moved closer, noticing that the slash was stretched down her back and into her nightgown was actually a scar. Flanking on her shoulders blades was a set of symbols that didn't look familiar to him, but he could guess that they translate into something else. Right above symbols, an outline of an eye was almost staring right back at him, almost as if to intimidate whoever was caught in its gaze; though right underneath the eye were a couple of lines that were well drawn to accent the eye, to give that otherworldly appearance.

Moving back so she didn't run into him, she didn't seem to mind that he was right behind her as she walked past him, until she said, "Please let me know if you're goin' to stand behind me. Don't want to hurt ya again for miscommunication."

He could only chuckle ruefully as heard that slight teasing tone in her voice. "Sorry." He watched her shrug as she disappeared behind the curtain, the mist almost lovingly curling around her ankles.

He walked to the where he was almost at the entrance of the bathing room and propped up against the wall, turning his attention to the muddled bed. Putting in a small amount of concentration, he waved a hand through the air and watched as the shadows from the room formed almost like hands and began to straighten out the sheets, realigning the pillows back against the head board until finally leaving the bed in perfect arrangement. While he was at it, he made a mental push and a shadow limb came to him with a dark blue shirt. Grabbing the shirt and releasing the shadow back to its normal position, he put the shirt on and resumed his spot near the door.

Hearing the sigh come through the curtain, he could only guess that she was relaxing in the water. Oh, boy. That sent so many ideas to his head, especially some vivid ones that include her clinging to him in total sensual abandonment. What made it worse was the fact that he remembered every single detail and contour of her body, the way her shape was hugged by her nightgown outlining the slope of legs, the perkiness of her breasts and the

He could feel his blood rush to his groin and nearly moaned at the next picture that was in his head. Him, and Lila, both naked, and with her sprawled out on the surface of the water, gasping and moaning out his name as he propelled both of them into sweet oblivion. Oh, he could see it so clearly to, considering Lila's sleep wear last night didn't leave much for the imagination. _No,_ he thought. _Not now of all times!_

Taking a few deep breaths and calming the thrumming of blood that was coursing through his body right now, he finally formed the questions he wanted to ask and questioned, "So what do those symbols on your back mean?"

* * *

When she let her body slip into the water, Lila could feel all the tension and dirt on her body as she sighed, letting her body sink onto the step she had found in the water, the water level sitting a little past her shoulders. Dunking her whole head under water, she ran her hands down the length of her hair, untangling any knots she came across. She noticed that close to her on the edge of the pool were a couple of bottles. Grabbing the purple one, she almost missed the question Brand was asking.

Symbols? Oh yeah, her tattoos! "Ya mean my tattoos?" she asked, her clear voice cutting through the mist like a heated blade.

"Is that what the surface world calls them?" He further questioned curiosity clear in his voice.

"Pretty much. De one on my left shoulder blade is de Japanese wording for honor, de one on my right is for love." She answered, popping the stopper off the bottle. She let the scent of wood and rain rinse through her senses. "What is in de bottles?"

"The one in the purple is bath oil meant for the skin, while the blue one is meant for the hair. There's a set of small towels near the bottles to wish with the body oil. So what is this Japanese, another culture?"

"Yep, one of de many nationalities of de human race. De Japanese are better known for der honor, loyalty, and wisdom."After grabbing the small towel, she tilted the bottle onto the towel, letting the slightly blue colored oil gather in her palm before smearing it along the cloth and began washing her body. "Normally, people get tattoos to symbolize something dat dey have experienced in der lives. I got de ones on my shoulders when I was about…."she blew a bang that fell in front of her face, "I believe 15 years old." She laughed softly as she remembered how she got them. "Actually it was kind of weird on how I got them."

His next question surprised her. "Why so late though? Here in Atlantis, some tribes get their 'tattoos' when they are hatchlings."

Her eyebrow lifted at the term. _Hatchlings? Well he is a dragon_. "On the surface world, anyone under the age of 18 is viewed by the world as a child, so in order for someone like me to get a tattoo at the age of 15, I would have needed my guardian's permission; though it was in my favor considering that it was one of my best friends' older brother who did the tattooing."

It seemed like something didn't sit right with Brand when she said guardian. Why didn't she say her parents? "Why did you need your guardian's permission? Surely if you asked your parents, they would have let get them."

There was a long silence before Lila answered, the slight twinge in her heart pounded slightly. "I wouldn't know if my mother and father would have allowed it. They died when I was 13." She let herself sink into the water to wash away the oil, the surface just below her nose. She breathed through her nose, letting her exhales cause small ripples through the water. She blew air through her mouth softly, letting the water bubble underneath her nose.

"I'm sorry. I didn't know." Brand bowed his head, not wanting her to relive the same pain of losing his own family as well. Quickly he changed the subject. "So, how did you get your tattoos and why was it weird when you got them?"

Lila had to chuckle at this, she didn't know for Brand's consideration or for the situation. She gripped at the space above her heart, almost forgetting that she still had the _Ra-Dracus_ and her aquamarine necklace as she proceed to tell him how it was after her parents' death and they were laid to rest, she was sent to live with her five paternal uncles and her grandparents on a ranch in South Carolina. After about two years, she was inconsolable: didn't eat much, didn't stay focused during school, didn't even practice her martial and fine arts because whatever she did, it would reminded her of how it used to be with her parents and it tore at her heart. Her family tried everything to shake her out of the funk she was in, and truly she was grateful for that, but it wasn't until she had started high school, that she had turned her life around for the better.

She started paying attention in class, made new friends—coincidentally, Grace was one of them—and picked up her training again. She said, letting a smile grow on her lips as she remembered those times. "After about a couple months or so, there was a boy my age, Drake, who always felt this sort of resentment towards me. For what I didn't know, but I did know was dat he was constantly trying to put me down, calling me a half-breed, and trying to insult me whenever he could."

When Lila said this, Brand all of sudden felt a coil of anger and rage fester in his veins. Suddenly, he wanted to meet this boy in person and teach a good 'lesson' in manners towards women, especially Lila. "And did he?" He asked, almost letting the sharpness slip through.

She suddenly laughed as she answered cheerfully, "Nope. Actually he always failed. When he tried to insult me, I just fought back with bigger words dat left him stumped. When he would try to trip in halls, I would jump over his feet with no problem or step on them, hard. It depended if I was wearing my boots dat day."

This got a little laugh out of Brand as he could see it in his mind a feisty dark-haired beauty that still had a little bit of baby fat around her face, stepping on a boy's foot for trying to trip her. What she said next left in thinking. "I was having no problem with dealing with him until one day, he decided to take it too far."

A sense of dread and anticipation filled Brand as he questioned again, his voice remaining firm. "What did he do, Lila?"

It grew quiet again and Brand heard water splashing and clothes ruffling. "It was during our lunch break when he called me out to the field that our school used for sports. I told Drake that unless he had something to say for de way he was actin', I was leavin'. His answer was dat he didn't have to answer to any half-blooded bitch that had no business being here and that I must have been born a bastard becomes my parents were bastards for creating me."

Brand saw her walk out from the curtain. She had changed from the clothing she had on yesterday, the same pair of dark blue pants, but the short-sleeved shirt was purple with some tribal marks. He also noticed that she two more sets of tattoos on both her forearms and near her shoulders and that she had put her hair in a high pony tail, the tail part being braided and her bangs were wafted off to the side, highlight the scowl on her face.

"I dared him to repeat dat line again, warnin' him dat I had no problem for him to insult me but I had no patience for those who insulted my family. Not only did he repeat it, he spewed out dat my parents got what was coming to dem in the end and it was goin' to play out just the same for de rest of my family." She took a deep breath, as if to calm down the rage that was building inside her body, but it didn't stop the tears that built up in the corners of her eyes. She unclenched her fists to wipe away the stray tears before finally relaxing. She then told him how she went all out with him. The fight itself lasted about a good several minutes before some of the teachers came out to break up the ongoing crowd.

"He put up a good fight and caught my eye," she pointed towards her scar that was over her left eye, "with his nails-pretty good too because I couldn't see out of my left due to de blood for de rest of de fight-but in de end, I had beaten him fair and square. By de time our instructors came out, I had already beaten Drake. I was walkin' away when someone yelled from behind. Turned out Drake tried to get the last shot at me with a hunting knife he had hidden away." She brought up one of her forearms to where Brand was looking at it.

He examined the area she was showing him and he had to bring her arm closer, his hand completely enclosing around her tiny wrist, just to make sure he wasn't seeing things. Sure enough, on the underside of her left arm, a few inches below where the wrist connected to the palm, there was a three-and-a-half inch scar. The same type of scar, he recognized, that was usually left behind by a knife or dagger. He heard Lila fill in on had what happened. "My instructors, Mr. Tunstall and Mr. Duke, managed to finally get Jared off me. I still had the knife in my arm, so I pulled out my in my deadest voice, 'You want your knife back?'*****." She paused for a moment to shake her head. "He was scared shitless, him and along with some of the other students who were still there. I still remember the look on their faces when I said that. It was amazin' that I didn't burst out laughin'." She let out a gentle laugh.

Giving in to impulse, Brand kissed the scarred tissue, letting his lips linger on the skin before pulling away. "Such soft skin," He said reverently. "For one so strong and honorable." He brought her arm down, looking down at her with such emotion that the world around them seemed to fade.

Lila could have sworn that steam was coming out of her ears by now. She was about to say something when another long grumble was heard.

The blush on her face intensified as Brand laughed good-heartedly. "What do you say we fill that stomach of yours and get rid of this tense atmosphere?"

She let a small smile touch her face. "Sure, just let me grab my weapons." And with that she went to where weapons where in the room and began putting them back into place on her body. After Brand saw that she had finished with the last, sliding her tonfas back into her boots after putting them on and settling the swords on her left hip, he offered his elbow in a complete gentleman-like way and she accepted the invitation and let him walk her out of the room.

The door behind them closed with soft thud as they made their way down to the dining hall. The jewels that were embedded into the walls seem to give off more gleams in the morning light that shined through the semi-crystal roof that was over the palace. All the glittering light caught Lila's eyes as she commented, "It's amazing how beautiful this place is." The awe in her voice was evident as she passed by the jewels.

He could only laugh at her awestruck face. It was refreshing to see her innocent expression in something he thought was simple. "Wait until you see the Inner Circle," he promised. "It has more beauty than can be put into words, in my opinion."

"I'll hold ya to it." She smiled.

There was something that nagging on him about the conversation they had earlier, he didn't know if what was simple curiosity or worriment. "So what did happen after your fight?"

She continued where she left off, but now she had a more relaxed tone to it. "Well, afterwards, I was taken to a hospital to check on my 'spoils' of de fight. Except for de knife in my arm, I was pretty much okay, save for a few bruises and scratches. I still remember de expressions on de hospital staff's faces when they saw de knife embedded my arm. They couldn't believe I was keeping a straight face about it and I didn't cry out when they took it out. My family was completely in shock over what happened. I wasn't allowed to do anything strenuous so they kept me at home for about a week or so. They even got on to me whenever I baked or cooked." She had laugh at that recollection. "I still find it funny how dey worry over de smallest things with me."

Brand couldn't help but, again, picture an older couple, one or the other holding some physical similarity to her, arguing to Lila, who he could also see with an apron on with some flour smudged over cheeks while holding some freshly baked goods. He resisted the almost-uncontrollable urge to laugh at the cute imagery. "They must really love and care for you to worry about the smallest things with you."

"Well my father was de youngest of a family of five men, so dat had some effect to my standin' already." She waved a hand in the air as if to clear the imaginary pictures that were there. "Anyway, it's been a custom on my father's side of de family that whenever we experienced something big, my grandfather liked to refer this as the 'Way of the Warrior,' we have the choice of getting a tattoo to show off our accomplishment(s); however, while I was a minor, I was only allowed to get to small tattoos and I got the ones on my back."

"And you got the markings for honor and love to show how you fought for family that day." Brand concluded.

She gave him thumbs up. "Correct."

He shook his head slowly. "That was very interesting story. You should write your life as a story."

"My life has actually been labeled classified so I can't, but thanks for de compliment."

"You are welcome, but what about the marking of the eye on the back of your neck."

She poised her index to her mouth and winked teasingly. "That's for another time, because I think we're here."

Sure enough he looked ahead to see that they were coming up to the dining hall. Already he could hear the low buzz that was the usual talking and the clattering of cutlery and dining ware. "Then let us go."

Walking in stride, they walked into the hall where every warrior was just about ready to sit down and eat. Lila could see that it was all dragon warriors who were gathered around the dragon-clawed table, the _Ra-Dracus_ medallions giving them away. That and the fact was some came to eat without any shirts on so she could see the dragon tattoos that were on their chests.

As Brand led her to their seat, Lila kept a composed face and air about her that Grace and Shaye had both dubbed her 'Indian portrait'. She could feel the numerous stares that were focused on her and couldn't help but catch some snippets of the conversations that followed.

"Is she Brand's new whore?"

"No, I heard she was the one on took down that portion of the demon battalion."

"She looks too proud to be a whore."

"Whatever the case may be, _I_ would love to have someone that beautiful on my arm."

"Mmm, I prefer my women taller."

Lila didn't know whether to feel flattered or completely disgusted at the way they were talking about her. She swore that she could feel a vein just throbbing at her temple from that last comment; though the rest of her expression was still cool, calm and collected.

She didn't think about it very long as Brand pulled out an empty seat for her that was one space below the head of the table. Wow, the man had a sense of humor and chivalry. She flashed a grateful smile and sat down, pulling a picture perfect impression of a woman full of etiquette: Back straight, chin up, legs together, feet to the side, shoulders back, and finally hands together in her lap. After Brand set himself down next to her, she noticed that two more familiar faces joined them and sat at the head of the table, Grace and Darius.

The petite red head flashed a smile to her friend before saying, "Good to see you had nice sleep, Chavez. How are feeling?"

Brand lifted an eyebrow at the name before hearing Lila reply. "I feel better today, just a bit hungry."

He was about say something when he noticed that the servants were quickly filling the room, each carrying some sort of platter, jugs, and extra plates.

Going back to what he wanted ask Lila, he leaned over to ask his question. "Why did Grace just call you Chavez? I thought your name was Lila Fone—Fonete…?"

"My full name is Lila Osiceca Fontenot," she answered, moving her hands in time with her voice. "Remember how I explained that I got my two tattoos after a fight?"

He nodded, wanting her to continue.

"Well afterwards, news about de fight pretty much spread like wildfire throughout the community, especially in our school," she was about to continue when Brand questioned.

"What is 'school' anyways? I've heard from time to time with Grace as well, but she's never explained it well enough."

Lila thought hard on how to put into the right words. "Well, school is pretty much a place where children, from de ages of six to eighteen, go to study. We learn de basics of language use, mathematics, sciences and the fine arts and as they grow older, we learn de more advances uses of those basics dat can be applied towards our futures."

Brand nodded in understandment as Lila continued. "Anyway, after I was allowed back at school after a week, I earned a bit of fame. And with that came lot of names, Chavez being one of them."

"So in essence, you earned yourself several titles?" He questioned, his voice mixed with a sense of pride and humor. She nodded and he chuckled. "I'm not actually surprised about that." He took a drink from the silver goblet in front of him before asking again. "Curious as I am about your other titles, why were you called Chavez?"

She grabbed the goblet that was in front of her, curiously looking at the liquid in front of her. "In de past, de name Chavez belonged to an infamous gunfighter and knife user who also belonged to an equally infamous vigilante gang. Dat name stuck more than de others since we shared de same background." Feeling brave enough, she took a small sip, glad to find that the liquid was just water. The sweetest water she'd ever tasted, but water none the less.

"Background? Do you mean your family ancestry?"

"Yes. You see on the surface world, every human belongs to some sort of cultural group. Just as their different Altanteans, they are different humans. My father was a full-blood Lakota Indian and my mother was Mexican-American, so I was considered a person of mixed-blood and in de past, those like me weren't exactly welcomed, for the sake of keeping one's bloodline pure. That was why Drake kept calling me a half-breed. You understand?"

Brand nodded to her question, a scowl coming over his face at the mention of the boy's name that dare marred Lila's pretty face. He knew it was foolish thinking, but he wished that he was with her at the time. He didn't know what he would have done, seeing as Lila held her own, but he so wished he would have been by her side for some kind of support. He was still little confused about the Indian and Mexican terms, but he did know how the term half-breed was used around Atlantis and it wasn't friendly comment either. Casting those thoughts aside, he decided that time for those thoughts were later when she started talking again.

"Anyway, with de other names….I kinda forgot what they were. There was Xena, Crazy Indian Chick, and….," she couldn't remember the rest and turned to Grace as servants began to place the found on the table. "Hey, Grace do you remember de other names I had in school?"

Grace looked up from her plate to answer. "Hmm, you had several names. Let's see," she hold out her hands and began counting them as she recollected the names. "The ones that stuck to you the most were Werewolf, Xena, Doc, Chavez, Wolf-Girl and I think the last one was the Dragon of the South. You had told me that was the nickname you were going with now."

That caught Brand's attention. "Dragon of the South?" That was a new one.

"I got dat one from my current line of work." She looked at the plate of food that was in front of her. Platters of ripe fruit, vegetables, were laid out in a feast fit for a king. Some slice of meat and pies were off to the side. Judging from the aroma that was wafting of them, they had to be some sort of meat pies. "I have a little trademark trick that I always show-off. I would show it now but I recommend doing it outside." She took the fruits and veggies that were familiar to her and decided to try the meat pie.

Taking a small portion of the pie, she ate the piece. Chewing slowly, she let the taste of the meat soak through her senses and the flavors of the herbs exhilarate her taste buds. After swallowing, she spoke to Brand, "This is really good!"

He couldn't help but laugh at her cute expression. It was like watching a kid eat a sweet for the first time. "I'm glad you like it." He continued to eat his meal while she went back and ate hers.

After they both had their bellies filled, Lila quickly noticed the stares coming from around the room, mainly on how they were directed at her. Pushing down the need to rub the hair on the back of her neck, she asked quietly pointing out, "Hey Brand. What are dey starin' at?"

Brand looked around the room to notice that some of the men were looking at Lila with a sort of curios face and they caught his stare, they went back to what they were doing, some having the decency to blush . He stiffened slightly when he realized that they were looking at Lila the same way he was; as she was fleeting wind nymph, a very beautiful creature that was here one moment and gone with the wind the next. Reeling on the sense of pride and a bit of possessiveness, he cleared his throat, "Ahh, forgive them. It's been a long time since they have been in the company of beautiful women. I believe they are staring at you, sweet siren."

Then she did the most unpredictable. She laughed. Well, first, she began to giggle and then it grow louder and louder until she laughing so much that he could see little drops of tears form at the corner of her eyes, one hand around her stomach, the other on top of her head. By the gods, what a laugh. The same laugh he heard in his dream, but in contagious form. It almost made him what to laugh with her.

After she had settled down a bit, she wiped the tears from eyes, sniffed a bit before looking to him, the smile highlighting the light blush on her cheeks. "Now, seriously, what are dey lookin' at?"

Needless to say, Brand was taken back a bit. Why was she questioning this? Did she not know how beautiful she was? How her inner flame fueled her outer beauty? He looked to Grace for answer, taking the way she cradled her head in her hand shaking slowly, he guessed that he wasn't the only one. Knowing that it would be pointless to argue now, he dropped it. "Never mind." He answered, pushing his chair back to stand and offering his hand towards Lila. "How about that tour I promised you?"

Lila looked at Brand, then towards his hand before gasping into her own, his hand almost swallowing hers as she stood up, letting Brand walk her out of the room and through the castle.

* * *

**So I do have the other part for this lined out already, I just need to work on the grammar and the revising.**

**Please review my lovely duckies! **

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